Wrath of the Dragon
by Dez Guardius
Summary: The Chuunin Exams come about, but it looks like there's more to this than meets the eye. Especially since there are Kumonin competing. Are they after the Byakugan again, or is there something else going on...? Graphic Death Scenes in Chapter 2 & 8.
1. The True Test Begins! The Chuunin Exam!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, then everything would be going as I see fit. All hail Naruto x Hinata!

This takes place after the Wave Country Arc. All jutsu names will be in Japanese. Don't like it? Well too damn bad. Translations will be provided at the bottom.

And forgive the jumping around, if any. I want the readers to see the point, at the point.

"Blah" - human speech

"Blah" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: The True Test Begins! The Chuunin Exams

The sun shone on the shinobi village Konohagakure (1). It was morning, and in a few short hours, shops would begin to open to signal the start of the day.

But let us go to the apartment complex on one side of town. More specifically, the apartment of one Uzumaki Naruto.

Said Naruto, currently a Genin of Konoha rose from his bed, yawning. With his eyes half closed, he sleepily gazed at the floor next to his bed. Scrolls and pens littered the floor, and he remembered that he had been up late studying new ways to make Ninjutsu.

He left his bed and made his way to his table, where a new carton of milk, empty Ramen cups, and buttered toast awaited him. Grasping the milk carton, he held it to his ear and shook it.

The sound of chunks squishing against the ways made him sigh. It was always the same.

You see, Naruto may be a proud shinobi of the Leaf, but he's rather different than the other shinobi in the village. Radically different.

Thirteen years ago, Konoha was attacked by the dreaded Kyuubi no Yoko (2), a massive beast of chakra, ferocity, and raw strength. It was said that one swipe of the Kyuubi's tails could cause tsunamis to rise, and another swipe could level mountains

It was so strong, it could not be killed, but sealed inside the body of a newborn baby, mere hours old, its umbilical cord freshly cut. The sealer was the Yondaime Hokage (3), the strongest shinobi in the village. Using the feared Shiki Fuuin (4), in conjunction with the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki (5) and the Shishou Fuuin (6), Yondaime was able to seal Kyuubi into Naruto, at the cost of his own life.

Yondaime's last words that Naruto be treated as a hero for being the Kyuubi's prison. Sadly, that was not to be. The villagers, along with many shinobi, stayed in denial and kept to the claim that Uzumaki Naruto was the Kyuubi incarnate. So in response, the Sandaime Hokage (7), who had retaken the title of Hokage, made a law that made it illegal to speak of the malevolent Kitsune (8) under pain of death.

That didn't stop the glares and assassination attempts.

So Naruto adopted the mask of an idiot prankster. In reality, he was quite intelligent. Of course, what would the villagers fear, an intelligent "demon", or an idiotic one.

'That's all I'll ever be to them,' he thought, chewing on his buttered toast. 'A baka (9).'

After putting on his god-awful orange jumpsuit, the only thing he could afford at the time, and tying his hitai-ate (10) to his forehead, he locked to door to his apartment, and made his way to the bridge where he'd meet his team.

When he arrived he could see his two teammates already there. 'Okay, here we go,' he thought as he put on his proverbial mask.

"Good Morning Sakura-chan!" he enthusiastically said, but greatly cried on the inside on having to keep up the mask, wanting to only greet one female this way…

Haruno Sakura, his pink-haired teammate, looked at him in acknowledgement, as did his black-haired teammate, Uchiha Sasuke.

'Sasuke,' thought Naruto bitterly. The last of the Uchiha Clan in Konoha, after the rest had been slaughtered by Sasuke's elder brother, Itachi. As such, Sasuke grew up cold, indifferent, and frankly, like an emo.

The two boys glared at each other, then turned their heads away. Sakura, in the middle, looked back and forth between them, then sighed in defeat.

'They're doing it again… They've been acting like this since we got back from Nami no Kuni (11).' Hanging her head lower, she muttered "I feel awkward now…"

Two hours later, the silver-haired mask-wearing sensei (12) of Team 7 appeared. "Ohayo, everyone," said Hatake Kakashi, the famous Copy-nin.

Sakura and Naruto rounded on him and yelled, "You're late!"

Kakashi's eye turned into an upside-down U, indicating a grin. "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life…"

Kakashi grew serious. "Anyway there's a meeting I have to attend to, so you're free for the rest of the day." And with a puff of smoke, he was gone.

Instantly, Sasuke was off towards the village, Sakura tagging after him, pestering him for a date as usual. Naruto watched them go. 'When is she going to get that he doesn't like her.'

'**I'm seriously thinking that the Uchiha likes boys,**' said a voice inside Naruto's head.

'I hope to god not Kyuubi, otherwise, I'm gonna be watching him out of the corner of my eye.'

Another thing was that after being brutally attacked and left for dead, Naruto came face-to-face with the dreaded Kyuubi no Yoko. Kyuubi had ranted that Naruto was a worthless vessel incapable of defense. In retaliation, Naruto railed on Kyuubi for being the cause of all his misery. After a while, the two reached a grudging respect for one another, and eventually a truce. Naruto would slightly alter the seal in his mind, allowing Kyuubi to offer commentary and aid, and Kyuubi would give Naruto his chakra in times of need.

This happened when Naruto was six.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Kakashi poofed to the Hokage's office, where he saw other Jounin waiting. On one accord, they filed in to find out what the Hokage wanted.

"I called you all here for a reason," said the Hokage. "You should already know why from the people, though."

The eldest in the village, Sandaime Hokage was the current strongest shinobi in the village. After Yondaime sacrificed himself, he took on the title again, with great resignation. Unlike many of the shinobi, he actually cared for the well-being of Naruto. It was he that persuaded the landlord of the apartment complex that housed Naruto to give it to him, along with giving Naruto an allowance of sorts.

But he couldn't be all watchful, though. 'One of the downsides of being old.'

"So it's that time of year already?" asked Kakashi.

A cigarette-smoking bearded Jounin spoke next. "You have already reported to the other countries?" This was Sarutobi Asuma, the adult son of Sandaime Hokage. "Because I've seen a few shinobi in this village."

"So when is it?" asked the red-eyed black-haired Yuuhi Kurenai, a new Jounin, and a Tokubetsu Jounin (13) at that; she was a Genjutsu specialist.

"One week from now," replied Sandaime.

Kakashi furrowed his brow. "That's sudden."

Sandaime blew smoke from his pipe. "I'll make the official announcement…" At this he looked at all the Jounin. "Seven days from now, on the first of July, we will begin the Chuunin Selection Exams."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Naruto was in a bad mood.

First, he had been followed by a badly disguised Konohamaru, along with his friends Moegi and Udon, begging to play Ninja with him.

Then Sakura showed up, glumly asking "What kind of shinobi plays Ninja?", giving Naruto the impression that Sasuke rejected her. Again.

Then Konohamaru opened his big mouth and asked if Sakura was Naruto's girlfriend. With the threat of impending doom, Naruto quickly declined Konohamaru's claim. As if to add insult to injury, Konohamaru then said that his "boss could do better then some flat-chested forehead girl."

Fearing for his life, Naruto and crew ran from a raging Sakura, but halted when Konohamaru ran in a shinobi from Sunagakure (14). In an effort to save his little friend, Naruto rushed the black-clad shinobi, only to discover the "cat-hat-wearing" shinobi used chakra strings as he tripped Naruto.

Then Sasuke showed up and saved the day, by throwing a rock at said shinobi's hand, and earning the eying of his blonde-haired female teammate.

On top of that, a mysterious red-haired shinobi, wielding a gourd on his back and rings around his sea-green eyes appearing out of nowhere and effectively scared the crap out of his two teammates. An exchange between Sasuke and the shinobi, who was the same age they were, revealed that the three Suna-nin were Genin from Sunagakure, in Konoha for the Chuunin Exams.

The red-haired kid said that he was Sabaku no Gaara (15), and his two teammates were Kankurou and Temari, both two years older than Gaara. Naruto was effectively ignored, and the Suna-nin disappeared, resulting in Naruto's bad mood.

'I suppose it's what I get for playing the weak idiot though.'

"Now that we're going to start the Chuunin Selection Exam," went Sandaime, "those in charge of new Genin, step forward."

Only three came forth: Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma.

"Are there any Genin you wish to enter into the Exam among the ones you teach?"

Kakashi started. "From the 7th Team I lead, I recommend Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Hatake Kakashi."

Kurenai went next. "From the 8th Team I lead, I recommend Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Yuuhi Kurenai."

Asuma went last, as predicted. "From the 10th Team I lead, I recommend Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Chouji. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Sarutobi Asuma."

Sandaime grinned a little. "All three have given their recommendations. It's been a while since we last had rookies appear in the Chuunin Exam."

And so, it was done. Of course, the present Umino Iruka, the only other person in the village to care about Naruto's well-being (that knew about the Kyuubi, of course), was indignant to the Rookie 9's recommendation, saying that they were too young. He was put down by Kakashi, who said that the Rookie 9 were no longer Iruka's students.

As the sun begin to set, many other Genin began to arrive in Konoha, such as a team from Otogakure, a team from Kusagakure, and a team from Amegakure.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

As the sun rose to a new day, it the Rookie 9 meeting in the Chuunin Exam Test Room. Once again, Naruto was annoyed, and it had been by Sasuke. First, Sasuke had gotten the name of the previous Rookie-of-the-Year, who was Hyuuga Neji. Then Sasuke had gotten into a fight with Neji's teammate Rock Lee, and had gotten his ass handed to him.

'Well, at least we can take the exam in peace now,' thought Naruto as he, Sakura, and Sasuke walked through the doors.

Inside, they caught the sight of every Genin in the room. "Clearly, I was mistaken," muttered Naruto, as he and Sasuke glared at the Genin glaring at them.

The massive glaring contest was broken by a female voice squealing, "Sasuke-kun, you're late!"

Naruto turned his head to see Sasuke get glomped by one Yamanaka Ino, a pale-blonde with her hair in a ponytail, completely oblivious to the leer Sasuke was giving her, as well as Sakura's cries of "Get away from Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!"

Behind Ino were her teammate, the pony-tailed Nara Shikamaru and rotund Akamichi Chouji. Shikamaru gave off a sigh and said, "You three are taking this troublesome exam, too?"

'Time for the mask.' Naruto grinned. "Hey it's the idiot trio!"

"Stop calling me that. How troublesome…" retorted Shikamaru.

Chouji just kept eating.

"Yatta, found you all!" came a loud voice. Naruto swiveled his head, as did the other five.

Inuzuka Kiba, with his puppy Akamaru stood before them. At his side, the imposing sunglass-wearing figure of Aburame Shino, the heir of the Aburame Clan, the bug users of Konoha.

Slightly behind Kiba was the shy Hyuuga Hinata who, upon Naruto glancing at her, glanced down at her feet.

'Dammit, why can't she look at me? I wish I could say how I felt, but…' Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Kiba's voice.

"It looks like all nine Rookies are taking the Chuunin Exam this year." Smirking, Kiba added, "I wonder how far we can get, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke grinned and countered with a "You seem confident, Kiba."

"We trained like hell," replied Kiba. "We won't lose to you."

"Shut up," said Naruto. "Sasuke aside, I won't lose to you, dog-boy."

"Gomen (16) Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun didn't mean it that way," murmured Hinata, poking her fingers together.

"Eh?" Naruto tilted his head to see Hinata, only to see her glance away again.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

On the other side of the room, three shinobi watched the silver-haired Genin Yakushi Kabuto make his way toward the Rookie Nine.

The shorter one wore a white hoodie with the hood down, the sleeves torn off at the elbows, with the word "Seirei (17)" on the front in hiragana. He had grey shorts with his shuriken pouch on his left leg. Around his neck was a hitai-ate bearing the symbol for Kumogakure (18), and on his head was a set of goggles. In addition, he wore fingerless gloves on both hands, and traditional shinobi sanderu (19).

The tallest of the three wore a black trenchcoat, and a charcoal vest beneath it, which bore the kanji "Shi (20)" in red. He wore the black Jounin pants, fingerless gloves, and shinobi sanderu. On his forehead was his Kumo hitai-ate, and he wore glasses and a bored look.

The last one was the most bizarre of the three. He had a headpiece similar to the one owned by the Suna-nin Kankurou, except his had Kumo on it. He had baggy black pants, sanderu boots that went up to his shins, and no shuriken pouch at all. He had red armor that molded to his chest, and red armor on his right shoulder, and his right forearm. He wore fingerless gloves that had the sleeves extend to just before his elbows. But his face got the most attention: He had intricate patterns on his face, no eyebrows (think Kankurou's make-up without the mouth make-up, and red instead of purple), and his skin was a tanned brown.

The shorter one said, "Ready to go introduce ourselves?"

The taller of the three yawned and said, "Sure, why not?"

The apparent leader grinned, showing off an impressive bunch of fangs. "After all, it pays to know one's enemies."

With that, the Kumo Trio made their way toward the Rookie Nine and Kabuto, who had just put away his Nin-info cards.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Translations:

Konohagakure – Hidden Leaf Village

Kyuubi no Yoko – Nine-tailed Mystic Fox

Yondaime Hokage – Fourth Fire Shadow

Shiki Fuuin – Dead Demon Consuming Seal

Hakke no Fuuin Shiki – Eight Trigrams Seal

Shishou Fuuin – Four Symbols Seal

Sandaime Hokage – Third Fire Shadow

Kitsune – fox

Baka – idiot

hitai-ate – forehead protector

Nami no Kuni – Wave Country

Sensei – teacher

Tokubetsu Jounin – Specialist Jounin

Sunagakure – Hidden Sand Village

Sabaku no Gaara – Gaara of the Desert

Gomen – sorry

Seirei – spirit

Kumogakure – Hidden Cloud Village

Sanderu – sandels (what the shinobi in Naruto wear)

Shi – Death

Whoo! That was good. There reason I put up definitions is because I didn't want people asking what stuff meant. And I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence.

Now please review!

_Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon:_ The Three Kumo-nins reveal themselves, and the first two parts of the Chuunin Exam begin. What's in store for our Rookies? Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: Three Kumo-nin, Two Exam parts!


	2. Three Kumo Nin, Two Exam Parts

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Like I said before, I need reviews. Granted, I grateful for the two I've gotten so far, but I need the input of other people.

On a side note, anonymous reviews have now been enabled for this fic. Now anyone can review.

One final thing: I'm gonna try to limit Translations down to Jutsu names and at least 10 other words per chapter from now on. Any word with a number and a letter next to it is a jutsu, and any number alone is a word that will be translated. Feedback would be good for that.

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**_Blah_**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 2: Three Kumo Nin, Two Exam Parts

As Yakushi Kabuto put away his Nin-Info Cards, he felt the approach of the three Kumo-nin, and faced to meet them.

The leader of the three, the one with the head-piece, strode past Kabuto and stood in front of Team 7. After studying them, he spoke at last.

"What is your name?"

His eyes were on Naruto, but Sasuke strove to answer with a smirk. "Uchiha Sas--"

"I already know who you are," interrupted the Kumo-nin with a sneer. "I meant your blonde teammate."

After recovering from the shock of a foreign nin asking for his name, Naruto hesitantly answered, "Uzumaki Naruto."

The Kumo-nin then gave a mock bow, completely ignoring the irate Sasuke. "Ryunosuke Hachi, at your service."

The trenchcoat-wearing Kumo-nin gave out a yawn, then said, "Kurotora Kurisu."

The goggle-wearing nin was all over Hinata. "Well, how do you do, pretty lady?" Grasping her shaking hand, he introduced himself. "Ichi Kureji, at your service, milady. And you are…?"

"H-Hyuuga Hinata." At the moment, Hinata was ready to have a coronary. After an attempted kidnapping by a Kumo-nin when she was three, which thereby resulted in her lack of confidence, she also saw Kumo-nin in a new light.

Which was why she was grateful when Kiba, and to her delight, Naruto, both shouted, "Get away from Hinata-chan!"

Kurisu hit Kureji on his head, saying "Always with the Hyuugas. I swear, if it has white eyes and boobs, then you've probably hit on it."

Clutching his head, Kureji gave him a grin. "Can't help it. Every since I saw my first Hyuuga, I've just been attracted to those eyes. That, and their seemingly erotic--"

Kureji found himself kicked in the face by Naruto before he could finish his statement. "Don't talk about Hinata-chan that way!"

It was here that Sakura hit Naruto on the head, for "Trying to cause an incident between Cloud and Leaf!"

Sasuke snorted and turned to glare at Hachi, saying, "Why do you care the name of the dobe? I'm--"

Hachi interrupted Sasuke again, saying, "I said I knew who you were. Uchiha Sasuke, last member of the Uchiha Clan in Konoha, and resident genius of said Clan, with exceptional skill over Katon Ninjutsu."

Sasuke was the first to recover, as all the other members of the Rookie Nine were awestruck by the information put out. "Heh, so I'm known as far as--"

"Frankly, I don't give a damn who or what you are," growled Hachi. "because the title of 'Genius' is a shit title."

"Here we go," groaned Kurisu, slapping himself in the head.

Sasuke was getting annoyed, but Hachi was heedless of this. "As far as I'm concerned, the majority of people considered a 'Genius' has gone rogue."

Sakura found herself elbowed slightly by a grinning Kureji. "These are always priceless, 'cause he ends pissin' people off to no end."

"What's he doing?" asked Sakura, and Naruto and Ino voicing her question in their eyes.

Crossing his arms, bowing his head, and closing his eyes, Kureji replied, "He's inducing spite into the heart of every shinobi in this room."

Hachi continued: "The perfect examples of Leaf are the Hebi-Sennin (1) no Konohagakure, and Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and slowing began to emit Killing Intent. How dare this bastard bring his brother-who-shall-remain-nameless into this!

Smirking, Hachi kept going: "Other such examples of Genius' gone rouge are Akasuna no Sasori (2) of Sunagakure…"

This one caught the ears of Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara. "Son of a bitch," muttered Kankurou angrily. "As if it isn't a low blow enough," muttered Temari. Gaara simply glared at the loud Kumo-nin with bloodlust.

"Deidara of Iwagakure (3)…" A couple of Iwa-nin twitched, at the name of the infamous Kibaku Nendo (1A) master.

"Zetsu of Kusagakure (4) …" The feminine-looking Kusa-nin narrowed his eyes at the name of the Nuke-nin of Kusa.

When the boastful Kumo-nin began to mention the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, the rowdy Kiri-nin in the room were ready to lead the other genin to the massacre. But then, three shadows made themselves known. The three genin from Otogakure (5), in a display of their strength, or more accurately the leader of the three, one who wore an over-sized coat with a fur-like object on the back, and had his head covered in bandages except for his left eye and ear, made a swing at Kabuto… and missed. Was is due to the bulky metallic object on his right arm? Everyone thought so.

Kabuto was able to dodge the attack, and he smirked. But two seconds later, his glasses cracked, and he scrunched his face in confusion. But then he realized…

"So that's what kind of attack it was," said he.

Confused, Sasuke spoke up. "What's going on? You definitely dodged it, so why'd your glasses…"

"It must have hit his nose," said Shikamaru. Giving off a "che", he then added, "That's what he gets for trying to look cool."

It was at this point that Kabuto fell to his knees, and emptied the contents of his stomach.

"Just as I thought," said Kurisu, as Sakura and Naruto made their ways over to Kabuto's side, and as the other genin in the room stared awestruck. "Sound Waves."

"Whaddya mean?" growled Kiba, his ears slightly ringing.

"Mummy-man there," explained Kurisu, pointing at the leader of the three Oto-nin, Kinuta Dosu, "processes sound waves through that thing on his arm." Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he continued. "From the looks of things, Kabuto had his inner-ear disabled temporarily."

At this, the all the genin in the room knew to be wary of the Oto-nin. And by this time, Kabuto had been helped to his feet by Sakura and Naruto.

Dosu tilted his head and said, "You're not as good as I thought for a four-year veteran."

"Write this on your cards," said Abumi Zaku, Dosu's spiky-haired teammate. "The three genin from Otogakure will definitely become Chuunin."

And so the three Oto-nin; Dosu, Zaku, and their female teammate, Tsuchi Kin made their proclamation.

There was a loud "BAMF" and all the genin turned towards the front of the room. "QUIET DOWN, YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS!" came a voice from the smoke.

When the smoke cleared, before all the genin stood an imposing figure of a man, with a black trenchcoat, a heavily scarred face, and a Konoha bandana. And behind him stood the Chuunin Exam Proctors, wearing the same gray uniform.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said the scarred man. "I am the examiner of the 1st part of the Chuunin Selection Exam, Morino Ibiki."

The Konoha-nin that had heard of this guy gazed at him in horror and fear. Morino Ibiki was a Tokubetsu Jounin that was in charge of the ANBU Torture/Interrogation Force, and a force to be reckoned with. And he was also a sadist. But to have him as the first examiner…

Ibiki pointed a gloved finger at the Oto-nin. "Hey! You three from Sound! Don't think you can do anything you want before the exam!" he yelled. "Otherwise, I'll fail your sorry asses!"

Dosu shrugged and said, "Sorry, guess I got a little excited, this being my first exam and all."

Nodding his acknowledgement, Ibiki addressed everyone else in the room. "Listen up! You're not allowed to fight each other before the Exam starts without express permission from one of the Proctors. Even then, you're not allowed to kill your opponent."

Here he gave off a little Killing Intent. "Anyone who disobeys my rules will have their sorry ass failed by me, personally. Understood?"

The room was silent, except for Zaku making the comment, "This test is gonna be easy."

Ignoring him, Ibiki said, "We will now begin the first part of the Chuunin Selection Exam." Holding up a number, he said, "Turn in your applications, take a number, and sit where it tells you. Then we'll pass out the papers for the Written Exam."

The only words Naruto heard out of that exchange were "Written" and "Exam". Now he knew he probably wouldn't pass the Written Exam, and he needed to keep his mask, so he shouted out, "NANI?"

Off in the corner Kureji started laughing like a madman.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Before long, everyone was seated where they were supposed to. Sakura smirked as she stared at the sweating Naruto two rows in front of her. 'Poor Naruto. He's depressed because this is the worst type of exam he can take.'

In reality, Naruto was laughing on the inside. '**_You'd better be grateful to me and the Sea Dolphin _**()' 'Oh, don't worry, Yoko. I am, I am.'

Naruto was jerked out of his thoughts by a soft, "Naruto-kun." He looked beside him to see Hinata, who was slightly blushing. "Let's do our best," she said.

"Maa, thanks Hinata-chan," said Naruto, thinking, 'I'm gonna have to do something about her confidence…'

Ibiki caught everyone's attention and began his tirade. "Listen closely; the First Exam has a few important rules. I ain't accepting questions, so if you miss something, you're on your own."

While people were confused, he continued. "First Rule: You're all given a starting 10 points. The Written Exam is worth 10 points, each question being worth 1 point. This is a deductive-reasoning test. You get one problem wrong, you lose a point."

When everyone agreed in conformation, Ibiki continued. "Second Rule: The pass-fail ratio will be determined by your team's total amount of points."

That caught everyone by surprise, including the stoic Sand and Cloud-nins. Sakura yelled out, "Wait, what do you mean by your team's total points?"

"Urusai!" boomed Ibiki. "I have my reasons, so shut up and listen." Here he continued. "Third Rule: If a proctor determines that you cheated or did something similar during the test," here he grinned seeing several genin cast their heads to the seated proctors, "you'll lose two points instead of one."

At the looks he was given, he laid it down for them all: "There will be some of you who will leave this room without your tests being graded. Those who cheat without thinking will only hurt themselves."

One proctor, Hagane Kotetsu, added, "We'll be monitoring you the entire time."

Ibiki then added, "Everyone here is trying out for Chuunin. Since you all are shinobi, you'd better act like a decent one."

As if he could read Sakura's mind, who at this point was thinking that the team would still be in the clear if Naruto failed, he added, "In addition, if anyone on a team gets a zero, that entire team will fail."

Sasuke and Sakura froze, wide-eyed with shock. If Naruto made them fail…

Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine. 'Someone's looking at me.' Turning his head slightly, he saw Sakura and Sasuke giving him the evil eye. Deciding to play ignorant, he grinned in his foxy way, and gave them a peace sign. Chuckling on the inside, he felt them return his peace sign with concentrated Killing Intent.

"The last problem will be given 45 minutes after the exam begins. You have one hour to complete the exam."

With that, he concluded with a loud, "Begin!"

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Suffice to say, the Written Exam was the proverbial hell. The first nine questions were ones no normal genin would be able to answer, and the tenth question was blank.

It was 30 minutes into the test that everyone began to discover the true meaning of the test. The test was designed so that the genin were forced to cheat.

So the war of the cheaters began. Gaara used his Daisan no Me (2A), Sasuke used his Sharingan, Neji used his Byakugan, Sakura used her intellect, Ino used her Shintenshin no Jutsu on Sakura, Shino used his bugs, and the list went on…

As Ibiki stared out into the genin, he snorted. 'The only good cheaters I see out here are that Sabaku no Gaara kid, the Aburame Heir, and that Tenten girl. And that kid from Sound.' He had already known that there was an extra proctor along with the others, and the veins of the Byakugan were obvious, as was the red eyes of the Sharingan.

Naruto was actually thankful for the fact that he had a 10,000 year old demon in his head and stomach, but he had to make it look like he was having a hard time. At one point, Hinata actually tried to allow him to glance off her paper, but Naruto declined, saying that he'd rather pass his own way.

Left and right, the proctors were failing genin teams like wildfire. By the end of the 45 minutes, there were no less than half the original number of teams in the room, including the Rookie Nine, the Suna-nin, the Kumo-nin, the Oto-nin, and the Gai Cell (Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten). 'Looks like its that time,' thought Ibiki.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"45 minutes have passed since the exam started… it's now time for the final question." He then yelled out, "I will now give you all the final question!"

Hachi grinned and growled, "It's time."

"Before I give you the final problem," began Ibiki, "there is one special rule for this one."

At this point, Kankurou returned from his rendezvous to the restroom, and Ibiki told him to sit down. But not before Kankurou passed off a mini-scroll to Temari.

"I will explain now. This is… a hopeless rule." At everyone's confusion, he faced them and began to explain. "First, you all are gonna choose whether or not you wish to take the final problem."

This got everyone's attention. Temari yelled out, "Choose? So what happens if we choose not to take the tenth question."

Answering her question, Ibiki replied, "If you choose to not take the question, you'll lose all your points. In other words, you fail." Grinning, he added, "And when you fail, your teammates will fail with you."

There were cries of indignation, and someone yelled out, "Bullshit! Of course we'll take the final question."

Ibiki closed his eyes, and continued on. "And that goes with the other rule. If you choose to take it, and get the question wrong…" here he opened his eyes, "you'll be banned from the Chuunin Exam for the rest of your life!"

The temporary silence was so ominous, that one could hear a pin drop. And Kureji, deciding to be a smartass, dropped one. The pin hitting the floor sounded like a cannon shot. At this point, Kiba rose up and pointed a finger at Ibiki, saying, "What kind of bullshit is that? There are people here who took the Chuunin Exam before!" Akamaru added a bark for emphasis.

Ibiki chuckled. "You were unlucky this year. I am the Proctor. And as such, your shinobi careers are in my cruel, cold hands. That's why I gave you the option of quitting."

At this, Kiba sat down in a daze. "You can choose to not take the final question, and fail. But you can take the exam again."

Everyone had the same thought: 'Don't take the question and fail, or take the question and stay a genin forever if the question was wrong. Either way, it's a no win scenario.'

"And so, it begins," intoned Ibiki, his voice like the voice of God.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

When Ibiki asked the people who were going to not take the question to raise their hands, almost immediately, half the people in the room raised their hands. When their numbers were confirmed, they left.

Sakura expectantly watched and waited for Naruto to raise his hand, because surely Team 7 would be better off taking the exam next year, wouldn't they?

When Naruto did raise his hand, he immediately slammed it down, and said, "Screw you! I ain't runnin' away!"

With everyone in the room staring at him, he continued railing against Ibiki. "So what if I have to stay a Genin forever! I'm still gonna be the Hokage no matter what!" Here he pointed at Ibiki. "So give me the stupid question already! I'm gonna take it, 'cause I ain't afraid!"

With that, he seated himself, with complete confidence in his abilities.

'He wasn't even thinking about us… he's got quite the spirit,' thought Sasuke with a grin.

'N-Naruto-kun…'

'Yes, he's an idiot, but a noble one at that,' thought Sakura through a grin and a sigh of relief.

'He wiped out everyone's uncertainty… he's different, that Uzumaki Naruto,' thought Hachi with his eyes closed.

"Are you sure?" asked Ibiki. "Because after this, there's no turning back."

Naruto looked right back him, with confidence in his eyes. "I'm not going back on my word. That's my Nindo."

Ibiki glanced at the proctors, and they gave a silent nod of assent. 'I guess there's no point in belaying the inevitable,' he thought with a small grin. 'You're an interesting one… Uzumaki Naruto.'

"Nice determination." Ibiki looked out among the ones left. '28 genin teams left, eh? Quite a talented bunch we got this year.' "Alright then. Everyone here…in the first part of the Chuunin Selection Exam… PASSES!"

At the blank and shocked looks Ibiki was getting, he launched into a speech of how the test was designed. The first nine questions were based on information gathering skills, and the tenth question was a test of will and might.

He then talked about how information, at times, is worth more than the lives of people, and to emphasize his point, he took off his bandana, to reveal scores of slashes, burns, and screw holes in his scalp.

This made nearly everyone unconsciously grasp the tops of their heads. _The man had been tortured!_

He replaced his bandana, and then concluded with information being wrong would bring ruin to a mission, and to the one doing it. "With that," he finished, a genuine smile on his lips, "I congratulate you all, on making it to the Second Exam."

No sooner had he said that, then a large _something_ flew in through the window and landed in front of him. Kunai hit the ceiling, and the object flew open to reveal a banner and a woman. The woman wore a net outfit, an oversized jacket, a miniskirt, and a pair of shin-guards. 'That woman's gonna be the death of me,' thought Ibiki.

"Everyone, no time to celebrate! 'Cause the Second Examiner is here!" She had one hand in the air and yelled, "I am Mitarashi Anko, Second Examiner of the Chuunin Selection Exams!"

Dead Silence, which was broken by Naruto yelling, "WHAT THE HELL!"

"Anko," said Ibiki from the side of the banner, "check the atmosphere."

Anko blanched, then recovered. "You let 26 teams pass, Ibiki? Losing your touch?"

"Not at all, we just had some talented ones this time around."

"Oh, well." She gazed out at the teams left, grinned, and said, "You can be sure that I'll cut their numbers in more than half." That scared the crap out of a lot of people. She raised her voice. "All righty, prepare for the next exam tomorrow. We're gonna be somewhere else, so ask your Jounin sensei about it. Dismissed."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The next day, the genin teams met at a place that had chains on the gate.

'What is this place?' was the thought on everyone's minds.

"Welcome to Training Area #44, everyone!" Then on an afternote, Anko added, "Lovingly called the Forest of Death."

From that point on, nothing much happened, except Naruto mocking Anko, and getting a kunai thrown at him. Naruto found out never to make fun of the loud snake lady again. Anko then handed out waivers that said that Konoha wouldn't be responsible in any of the genin died. Then she told them that in exchange for their signed waivers, they would be given a different colored scroll for each team.

"Some of you will get a Chi (Earth) scroll, others will get a Ten (Heaven) scroll. Your objective is to obtain both scrolls, and then make it to the tower in the center of the Forest within 5 days."

The rules were set, and the game was on. The genin teams separated and went to their gates, but not before Hinata gave off a, "Good Luck, Naruto-kun." Then as Team 7 was walking past Team Kumo, Hachi yelled out, "I'll be looking forward to fighting you… Uzumaki Naruto."

"And another thing," Anko said. "Don't die."

The last thought Naruto had as the bell went off was, 'After this is over, I'll tell her.'

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

(A/N) We all know what happens now. But Team 7 will **_not_** run into Kabuto. Why will be explained below.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

_**Several Hours Later…**_

Anko was pissed off. First they had found the bodies of the three Kusa-nin outside the Forest of Death, their faces ripped clean off. Then when she ran into the Forest of Death, she ran into her old Sensei, the Hebi-Sennin Orochimaru, who basically told her that her was after the Sharingan, and then he disappeared.

She had gotten to the tower when the ANBU in the forest called her to an emergency, which is where she was now. And she still can't believe what was she was hearing.

"It's official. The team from Suna and the team from Kumo… finished the exam in 90 minutes, at the exact same time," said the Proctor.

"And look at both teams. Notice anything?"

"Yeah," Anko said. "None of them have a scratch on them."

"Yeah, but there's something about that Kumo-nin…" said the bird-masked ANBU who accompanied Anko. "Something… dark…"

**_Flashback: 45 Minutes Earlier…_**

Team Kumo leaped through the trees, searching for potential victims. Already, the sounds of teams going at each other were clear through the trees.

"What scroll we got?" asked Kureji.

"The Chi Scroll," replied Hachi.

"Means we need a Ten Scroll," finished Kurisu. His nose twitched. "And there's a team nearby. About 1.7 meters to the right."

You see, in the Hidden Cloud Village, Kurisu comes from a long line of feral shinobi. Fundamentally the same as the Inuzuka Clan of the Leaf, Kurisu's family, the Tora Clan, owe their abilities to living not with dogs, but amongst tigers, one of the most savage creatures of nature. However they managed to do it was a secret known only to the Tora Clan, but all that is known is that the Tora Clan was currently the strongest clan in Kumo.

The three genin dropped down in front of their targets, who turned out of be Kabuto and his teammates: Akado Yoroi, a genin wearing a mask and sunglasses; and Tsurugi Misumi, who also wore a mask, but wore glasses instead.

The genin glared at each other. "You've got something we want," said Hachi holding out his arm for the scroll.

Kabuto smirked. "Weren't you there? We have to fight for it."

"And with you rookies fighting us seasoned veterans," said Yoroi, holding out a kunai, "what sort of chance do you have?"

Tsurugi grinned beneath his mask. "Besides, we know what kind of abilities to expect from you."

"If that's true," began Kureji, a grin appearing on his face, "then you'd know that resistance is futile."

With that the two teams leapt at each other. Tsurugi took on Kureji, Yoroi took on Hachi, and Kabuto took on Kurisu.

Kurisu opened up with Shikakyu no Jutsu (3A) and shot at Kabuto, moving like a tiger would; claws outstretched and lengthened fangs. Kabuto was able to dodge and activate his Shousen Jutsu (4A), and slashed…

Kureji was all over Misumi. Literally. He had done a Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu (5A) and created 5 Earth Clones. Which then dog-piled Misumi, who slipped out using his Nan no Kaizou (6A) to slip out and attack. Which in retrospect wasn't a good idea, because at that moment, Kureji made a gamble that paid off: He charged up his bioelectricity, and as soon as Misumi came close, dispelled the Earth Clones and grabbed Misumi's outstretched arm. It took several seconds for Misumi to die, even though he tried to escape. As Misumi's charred corpse fell to the ground, Kureji grinned and said, "Medium, well done, or extra crispy?"

Hachi was stuck with Yoroi, who at the moment had his hand around Hachi's neck, which was glowing a light blue. Yoroi smirked. "Like it? Feeling a bit drained? That's my Chakra Kyuuin Jutsu (7A). It siphons your chakra into me."

Alas, Yoroi had the same flaw most people do: Giving out their abilities, and relying on them. What he didn't realize was that with giving out the best aspect of his technique also gave out a great drawback to it.

And Hachi was intent on using that to his advantage. Grinning madly, he roared, "You want it that bad? Then take it!" And reaching deep within himself, to THAT forbidden point, he unleashed a malevolent yellow chakra that surged into Yoroi. Yoroi barely had time to register that he had to take his hand off Hachi to avoid Chakra Overload before it happened. All he saw was Hachi's going from brown to…

Yoroi literally exploded from all the Chakra that he had siphoned from Hachi. Yoroi's corpse landed on its back, smoke rising from its mouth and eye sockets. The body was covered with Chakra burns and nearly burnt to a crisp.

Kurisu was pissed to no end. His opponent was ridiculously resilient; every time Kurisu slashed Kabuto with his claws, Kabuto's wounds would heal after a few seconds. And the longer the two of them fought, Kurisu began to notice that Kabuto's eyes were turning red.

Kabuto suddenly began attacking in a frenzy, slashing at random with his Shousen at the tora-enhanced Kurisu. As much as Kurisu was hitting Kabuto, the silver-haired genin would recover and attack more viciously.

It was at this point that Kurisu felt the up-rise of THAT chakra. He dispelled the jutsu he cast on him, then jumped up, gave Kabuto a two-finger salute, and said, "Sayonara."

Kabuto was confused as to why his opponent had left, but shrugged it off as cowardice. He was, after all feeling the Chidoki (6) within him, and he had never felt more alive. When the chakra spike hit him, he turned spun around and saw…

(A/N – The following is only for those with strong stomachs. I'm not going to stop you from reading, but if you get sick, that's bad on you.)

Kabuto saw a pair of golden slitted eyes the instant before he felt a searing pain in his belly.

The shock of the pain caused him to grasp his wounded area in an attempt to heal it, only, he felt something warm, wet, and slippery in his hands.

Kabuto looked down to see what it was, and that one glance filled him with horror. Then mass of purple and red tissue in his hands were his guts.

_His_ guts. His _guts_!

He was holding his own stomach and small intestine in his hands. That Kumo-nin had cut him open! And with every passing second, more and more of his intestine began uncoiling out of his flesh like snakes.

With the realization that he had been cut open hitting him like a bat, Kabuto's eyes turned back to normal, and he sank to his knees, vomiting blood, his guts slipping to the ground with him. In that instant, he _knew_. The damage to his stomach was too extensive.

_He was going to die_. Eviscerated like a common beast.

With him vision fading to black, he raised his head one final time and choked out, "Wha-what… are… you?"

Ryunosuke Hachi grinned and raised his blood-stained claws, then said, "Ore wa… Bakemono." And with a sideway slash, Kabuto's throat was torn out, and his life ended immediately.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Nice one," commented Kureji, as he pulled the Ten Scroll from Kabuto's pouch.

"Yeah, but don't you think someone's gonna notice their corpses?" asked Kurisu, nudging Yoroi's body.

Hachi was silent. Granted, he relished killing Kabuto, but he had needed to use THAT, and already, it was speaking to him in his mind, whispering words of malice to the Leaf, urging him to kill more, to slaughter more, to…

"I need to feed," he growled.

Immediately, Kurisu and Kureji stepped away from the bodies, and Hachi fell on Kabuto like a wild dog. Between the rending of flesh and tearing of Kabuto's organs, Hachi was temporarily sucked into the primal side of Man, the side man would want to forget…

The savage animal Man once was.

Kureji watched as Hachi devoured Kabuto, then spoke up. "Hey, Kurisu, you up for some spaghetti… or chopped liver?"

Dodging Kabuto's liver, Kurisu groaned. "You're sick, you know that?"

Kureji chuckled, and stepped aside to avoid a spray of blood. "That's what all the doctors said, but what do they know?"

"Clearly more than you."

"Aw, them doctors and their bitchin'. They said I'm mentally unstable, but I'm just fine."

Kurisu face-faulted, avoiding another organ, then stood up and intoned, "Kureji, your mind has reduced the doctors in Kumo to tears. Grown men that have faced war and yearned for an easier lifestyle, reduced to sobbing children in a matter of minutes. "

Kureji was about to retort when Hachi stood up, blood all over his face and chest armor, and said, "Going to the river. Get to the tree in front of the tower and await my return."

"Will do," said Kurisu. With that, he and Kureji took off towards the tower, while Hachi ran to the river.

_**Present Time: End of Flashback**_

Over the course of the next 4 days, the Tower found itself being the haven of tired teams. Team Gai arrived on the third day, and Team 7 arrived on late into the same day, Team 8 and Team 10 found themselves arriving on the fourth day, and Team Oto arrived on the last day. With the exception of Team Gai, Team Kumo, and Team Suna, all the other teams looked like hell.

And funny thing on the last day, Naruto kept trying to see Hinata, but he had to deal with Kiba acting like Hinata was his.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The time came when the seven teams met in the Preliminary Arena, with the Hokage, the Jounin Sensei's, and the Exam Proctors.

'78 people started out, and in the end, only 21 passed,' thought Anko as she surveyed the teams. 'When I was thinking of more than half of them failing, I was really thinking of a single digit number.'

At this point, many of the teams began having their own thoughts…

Team Kumo:

The Jounin-sensei of the Kumo team, a red-haired man with a device like a telescopic eye-patch, glanced down at his team. 'Hmmm, so all of you pulled through. We cannot afford having anything happen to the three of you…'

'…Uzumaki Naruto.'

'This will be most interesting.'

'Hyuuga Hinata, it just rolls off the tongue…'

Team 10:

"I'm hungry."

"There are still this many people? How troublesome…"

"Sasuke-kun's team made it!"

Team Gai:

At this point, Gai was telling Kakashi about how his team made it through luck, but luck wouldn't be enough to pass. When Kakashi responded with a, "Hmm, you say something, Gai?", Gai resolved to beat Kakashi another way, despite Kakashi's "cool, hip attitude!"

'So that's Gai-sensei's rival? He's got Gai-sensei beat in looks, but…'

'Gai-sensei is the coolest among the teachers! He shines like the sun!' "Watch me, Gai-sensei! Watch me shine, too!"

'The ones who stand out are the ones who were left, just like I thought. Uchiha Sasuke…'

Team Oto:

'…'

'Uchiha Sasuke, I promise you… revenge. I swear it. For both my arms.'

The Jounin-sensei of the Oto-nin narrowed his eyes. His subordinates did not appear at the tower, like they were supposed to. Which meant that something had gone wrong.

Team Suna:

The Jounin-sensei of the team from Suna, Baki, glanced down at his team and thought, 'So you made it through without a scratch, Gaara…'

The only other person with any thoughts was Temari: 'Amazing. Of the twenty-six teams that went in, only seven made it here…'

Team 8:

Kurenai was confused to see Akamaru, hiding in Kiba's jacket, as opposed to on Kiba's head, where he normally would be. 'Akamaru's acting strange,' thought she.

'Those Suna-nin…'

'I'm glad Naruto-kun passed, too.'

Team 7:

Looking around, Sakura said, "It looks like everyone from the rookie nine are here."

"Looks like everyone important is here," replied Naruto, sneaking a glance to his right. 'Damn you, dog-boy…'

Sasuke clutched his neck, and growled, "I don't have a good feeling about this though."

Back to the main view…

Sandaime surveyed the genin below him. 'Such promising candidates, and many of them are new.' Casting a sidelong glance at Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi, he added on a mental note, 'No wonder they were recommended.'

Anko stepped forward and spoke. "We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam by Hokage-sama."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Translations:

Hebi-Sennin - Snake Hermit

Akasuna no Sasori - Scorpion of the Red Sand

Iwagakure - Hidden Stone Village

Kusagakure - Hidden Grass Village

Otogakure - Hidden Sound Village

Chidoki - "Blood Wrath". A name I made up for Kabuto's "Old Blood" ability that he talked about

(1A) Kibaku Nendo - Exploding Clay

(2A) Daisan no Me - Third Eye. User creates an eye out of sand.

(3A) Shikakyu no Jutsu - Four Legs Technique. The user slightly more animalistic; being that their nails lengthen in claws, and they go about on all fours.

(4A) Shousen Jutsu - Mystical Palm Technique. Used by Medic-nins to reattach/sever muscles/tissues without breaking the skin.

(5A) Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu - Earth Clone Technique. Creates a clone out of mud, and the clone is more resilient than a Kage Bunshin.

(6A) Nan no Kaizou - Soft Physique Modification. Allows the user to contort their body at any angle. Cannot be done without actual body modification.

(7A) Chakra Kyuuin Jutsu - Chakra Absorption Technique. The user absorbs the chakra of the person they're touching.

() Sea Dolphin is a literal translation of Umino Iruka. Iruka means dolphin, and Umi means sea/ocean.

_Next time on_ Wrath of the Dragon: _It's the moment you all been waiting for! The genin pull out their technique in an effort to become Chuunin! Next time on_ Wrath of the Dragon: Burnout! Grand Genin Battle!

Thanks for all the reviews so far. And don't forget to spread the word. Any personal questions or comments? Just leave them in with the reviews. Sayonara!


	3. Burnout! Grand Genin Battle!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Where is everybody? Is this punishment for not having anonymous reviews enabled? I need more reviews, so I can hopefully try to fulfill everyone's desires. And FYI, the Rookie Nine are 13 in this fic.

Another note: Kudos to everyone that reviewed so far. I gladly give out my thanks to you all. I only ask "What must I do to get more reviews?"

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**_Blah_**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 3: Burnout! Grand Genin Battle!

Sandaime stood before the seven Genin teams. Clearing his throat, he began the speech he had been going over in his head.

"The Third Exam will now begin. But before the explanation, I want to make something clear to all of you. It is of this Exam's true purpose."

At the questioning looks he got, he continued. "Many of you ask, 'Why do we have a joint exam with our allied nations?' The textbook answers are, 'To maintain good relations the allied nations,' and 'To heighten the level of Shinobi'. But these are not the true answers."

"Rather, this exam is the true meaning of war between allies."

"What do you mean?" asked Tenten.

Sandaime answered, "If you look back at history, we and our neighbors fought each other repeatedly. To avoid wasting manpower and talent, each nation decided that instead of the actual battlefield…"

"… The battles would be fought through tests. And thus, the beginning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."

After Naruto threw out the question that was on everyone's minds, of whether or not the fighting was not for selection, Sandaime began again. "This exam examines those worthy of the title Chuunin. But in addition, this exam also forces the shinobi in it to fight for the honor and dignity of their village and country."

Afterward, he explained how spectators of the Third Exam often included Daimyo's who would inspect those who had shinobi in battle. This was a way for the shinobi to obtain potential clients. And in addition to the Daimyo's, the Kage of a Hidden Village would also observe the fights, to see the strength in each village. And the strongest village would be the one that would get the most missions.

Finally, the Chuunin Exams were also ways for the different villages to show their military might, as a warning to their neighbors. And when Kiba asked, "Then why do we have to fight with our lives on the line?", Sandaime simply answered, "The power of the village in reflected in the power of the country."

"To elaborate, the power of the village is based on the power of the shinobi. And only in a life-or-death situation can the true power of a shinobi be unleashed. Since you fought in such a situation, you follow the dream of those before you. And those before you have dreamed of and fought in the Chuunin Exams because of said situation."

"It is the custom in this world to show one's life and fighting to maintain a balance... the balance that must exist anywhere. This is the true meaning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."

After the tense silence, Gaara was the first to speak. "What of these life-and-death battles?" he asked, bloodlust evident in his eyes.

As the Hokage was about to answer, a bandana-wearing Jounin phased into view and bowed before the Hokage. "Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama… I, Gekkou Hayate, will explain the Third Exam."

After getting acknowledgement from the Third, Hayate turned to reveal bags under his eyes and a slight, sickly cough. "Nice to meet you, everyone. But before we begin, I need you to do something for me…"

After a small fit of coughing, Hayate said, "I need you to fight one another, to see who will advance into the main part of the Third Exam."

"What do you mean?" asked Shikamaru, clearly confused.

"It's just a few Preliminary Matches. We still have far too many examinees to just move on to the Main Event. Therefore, the rules state that some of the examinees have to be eliminated from the competition."

"Seeing as how we're pressed for time," said Hayate, taking a clipboard into his hands, "if anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, they may, with my consent. Because the Prelims begin immediately."

There were cries of "Nani!?" , "We just got here!!" , and one "Mendokuse (1) …"

Naruto clenched his fist. 'Alright, I'm gonna give it my all. But I'm gonna have to work harder, since that bastard of a snake put his seal over mine.'

"You'll be doing one-on-one matches from this point on, so if you want to withdraw, please do so now."

'I'm not withdrawing,' thought Sasuke, before he grasped his neck. That damnedable snake bastard was gonna be in for a world of hurt once he found him. Then he'd pay for that mark on his neck…

After shrugging of a worried Sakura, and declaring, "Naruto… you're one of the people I want to fight…", effectively shutting up his loud teammate who had started to tell him to stop being an ass, he turned his attention to the Hokage after hearing him say, "Yes?"

"I choose to withdraw," said Kurotora Kurisu, his left arm slightly raised. Despite the looks the other Genin were sending him, he held his ground. As far as he knew, his work in the Chuunin Exams was done.

Hayate leafed through the roster on his clipboard, and said, "You're Kurotora Kurisu of Kumo, aren't you? You may leave then."

Kurisu pushed up his glasses to the bridge of his nose, and said, "If it's alright with you, I'd rather watch the fights, the better to tell to siblings back home."

Hayate gave a look to the Hokage, who nodded his assent, then turned back to Kurisu, and replied, "You have been given permission. Just stand aside for now, until the teams regroup."

"Hai," said Kurisu, before moving to the back. At passing Kureji, he uttered, "Remember, follow the plan."

"I know already," whispered Kureji, whilst uttering a grin. "It won't be long before Kumo has what it rightfully should have."

"I'll leave everything to you two, then," said Kurisu as he walked back, pausing to glare at Gaara, with a slitted eye gone red.

After Kurisu had gone to the far wall, Hayate coughed and said, "I assume no others are going to drop out?"

Sakura was about to raise her hand, but Sasuke grabbed said hand, and told her not to do it. "It is my duty to answer the question, 'Am I strong?'. And as far as I know…" he paused, thinking back to everyone he saw. 'Sabaku no Gaara… Hyuuga Neji… Rock Lee… Kinuta Dosu…' "…I must answer that question, if I am in order to defeat That Man." He sent a glare at Sakura, saying, "And I'm not going to let anyone take that away from me… not even you, Sakura."

Seeing Sasuke grimace in pain, Sandaime inhaled from his pipe, and said, "Orochimaru being here worries me, but for know, let's just observe Sasuke."

Anko was indignant. "Ho-Hokage-sama!"

"If the Curse Seal begins to run rampant, then we'll quarantine him with the ANBU. But for now, let him be."

Ibiki nodded his assent, and so did Anko, begrudgingly.

"Well then," said Hayate, "Let's start the Preliminaries then. It'll be similar to actual combat, with one-on-one matches. And now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches. Subsequently, the winners of each match will move on to the Third Exam Finals."

"There are no rules. You will fight until your opponent is knocked out, dies, or admits defeat. If you do not wish to die, then forfeit. However, if I judge that the match is over…" Here, he coughed. "… then I will step in to prevent any unnecessary deaths."

"The thing that will foretell your destiny…" Hayate said, as Anko spoke into her headset, "is that board." Here a wall lifted to reveal a black board. "The electronic bulletin board will randomly show the names of two fighters of each match."

"And so, without further ado," intoned Hayate, "I give you the first match-up."

The board flashed, then shuffled through names, before stopping at two.

_Ichi Kureji vs. Uchiha Sasuke_

Sasuke grinned and said, "Right off the bat, eh?"

Kureji grinned and said, "Kickass."

"Alright then, will the two fighters on the board please step up?"

Sasuke and Kureji walked towards Hayate, then faced each other, as Hayate said, "The fighters of the first match are Ichi Kureji and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"

After hearing both fighters say "No!" , Hayate then said, "Alright then, will everyone else please move up to the catwalks?"

As the teams began to walk up, Kakashi appeared beside Sasuke, and said, "Don't use the Sharingan."

Sasuke, peeved at the thought of Kakashi trying to limit his growth, grinned and said, "So you know?"

"If the Curse Seal runs rampant, it may… kill you. Then your match will be cancelled, and I'll be forced to put you down. Understood?"

"Yeah, I figured as much," growled Sasuke. As Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura made their way up the stairs, Sasuke felt the Curse Seal throb on his neck. 'It seems like the Seal reacts to my Chakra. If I try to mold Chakra, then the Curse Seal draws strength off it. In that case, I'm going to have to try to limit my techniques.'

The Jounin-sensei of Kumo, Gigan no Boufuu (2), also called Toragan Boufuu, looked down at the fighters and thought, 'It was just your rotten luck to fight Kureji, Uchiha Sasuke.' In the meantime, Kurisu, who had joined them, and Hachi stood on either side of their sensei. 'Don't screw up,' thought Kurisu.

With all eyes on the fighters below, Hayate backed up and said, "Hajime."

Kureji opened up by throwing a bunch of shuriken, but Sasuke whipped out a kunai, and deflected them back at Kureji. Kureji jumped aside, then ran at Sasuke, who in turn dodged the incoming kunai, and slammed his own into the ground, where he grabbed Kureji's legs and forced him to the floor. By holding Kureji's arm, Sasuke was sure he had it won.

"Yatta!" shouted Naruto.

"Don't think it's over, yet," said Kurisu, walking over to them.

"Whaddya mean?" asked Naruto. "Look at him! He's on the ground!"

"Yeah," said Kurisu, a staring down into the arena, "but not everything is set in stone. His name, 'Ichi Kureji' means 'Crazy One', and he's called that for a reason."

This got everyone's attention. And if that didn't, then what happened next did.

Kureji's hair went from black to a silvery-grey, and his skin slightly darkened, to a pale dark brown. Registering this as a possible threat, Sasuke let him go, and jumped back a few feet.

Imagine his surprise when Kureji began to walk on his hands, and came at Sasuke, feet kicking.

'WTF!?' was the thought on everybody's mind, as Sasuke was forced to dodge every kick sent at him. "Told ya so," said Kurisu.

'Damn! He's making a fool out of me,' thought Sasuke, as he dodged kick after kick.

"What's the matter, Sasuke-kun?" asked Kureji, grinning madly. "Don't like my Shukakutentou Jutsu (1A) , do ya?" With that, he pushed off his hands and leapt into the air, forming hand seals. When he stopped on ram, his cheeks puffed up and he spewed mud from his mouth. When the mud hit the ground, it shifted into another Kureji. Both Kureji's grinned and said, "Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu, Sasuke-kun."

Shikamaru rubbed his head. "Okay, this is confusing. How does a Kumo-nin know a Doton Jutsu?"

'Let's just say that Kureji's been… busy his first few years,' thought Kurisu as he watched the two Kureji's perform a mad dance of death. With every three to four steps, Sasuke would get hit, and when it happened a fifth time, Sasuke fell to the ground in pain.

With everyone watching, Sasuke was getting more and more angry by the second. He was the last Uchiha. And he was getting his ass kicked by some no-name crazy Cloud-nin.

"The hell with this," he growled, and dodged a blow from Kureji.

Imagine everyone's surprise when Sasuke fell to the ground, pushed on the ground, and brought his foot to Kureji's chin, which hit with a resounding "THUD".

Not anticipating this, Kureji was caught unaware and sent airborne, while Rock Lee gasped and said, "That's my--!!"

"This is it for you," said Sasuke, as he appeared behind Kureji and set his middle and index fingers to his back.

"I think not, Sasuke-kun!!" growled Kureji, as his Earth Clone jumped up after them.

At this point, Sasuke, had over-exerted himself, and the Curse Seal reacted. Like a fungus, it spread from its spot to try to cover Sasuke's face, wracking his body with pain. 'Crap!' was Sasuke's thought. 'I… won't… let… this… thing… take… over!!' he shouted in his mind as he forced the Curse Seal to recede.

The shock on the faces of the adults was evident, and Sasuke used this to his advantage to move upward, as Kureji's Earth Clone smacked into Kureji's back. "NANI!?" shouted Kureji, as his hair and skin went back to normal.

"Eat this!!" shouted Sasuke, as he pushed down on Kureji. Kureji clone fell faster, and upon impact, turned back into mud. Sasuke then hit Kureji in the head, forcing the crazy Cloud-nin down even faster and once Kureji impacted, Sasuke brought his leg down in a downward strike, yelling "Shishi Rendan!!", and knocking Kureji unconscious.

As Sasuke stood shakily, Hayate moved towards Kureji, and knelt beside him. 'No need to confirm it,' he thought, then shouted, "Shousa, Uchiha Sasuke."

While Naruto was shouting, "Yatta!!", the medics came and took Kureji away, while Kakashi took charge of Sasuke. 'So, it looks like the Sharingan was the deciding factor,' thought Lee. 'You copied the moves I used on you, after seeing them once. Uchiha Sasuke, you are a worthy opponent.'

The board went through the same process, this time ending on the names _Abumi Zaku_ and _Aburame Shino_.

"Who's this weakling?" sneered Zaku, while Shino said nothing.

"Fighters, step up," said Hayate. Once Zaku and Shino were down, Hayate moved back and said, "Hajime."

Sakura vaguely remembered Zaku as the Sound-nin who had his arms broken by Sasuke. 'Is he going to fight with those arms?' she wondered to herself. While over at Team 8, Kiba was saying that Shino would be the last person he'd want to fight. Naruto took this opportunity to try and sneak over to Team 8. He was within a few feet when Kiba caught sight of him and sent a glare that said, "Back off, buddy… She is mine!" Naruto was tempted to flip Kiba the bird, but instead glared back and sulked back to Sakura.

During this transaction, Zaku had used one of his arms to send a Zankuuha (2A) at Shino. It connected, but Zaku recoiled at the sight of bugs leaving Shino's skin. Upon turning his head, he saw more of those same insects.

"These are my Kikaichu. They attack their prey in swarms, and consume their Chakra", explained Shino, holding one up. "If they all attack you, you lose. If you attack them, you lose, for that will leave you open for me. Therefore, it is advisable to forfeit." Holding his hands in the Tiger Seal, he ended with, "A true strategist never reveals his trump card until the end."

Zaku was having flashbacks of when he first met Orochimaru. Back then, he had been an ordinary kid. But Orochimaru had found him, and given him power. Then he thought about Sasuke, and the Curse Seal. The more he thought, the more enraged he became, until he finally pulled his other arm from its sling. Aiming his good arm at Shino and the other at the Kikaichu, he roared, "How's this for trump card!?"

But when he tried to fire, his arms exploded. His left arm was shredded, and his right arm was blown completely off at the elbow. Cursing in pain, his eyes widened in shock, as did everyone else's, to see Shino's Kikaichu in the barrels in his arms.

"When I was telling you to forfeit," said Shino, materializing behind Zaku, "I also told my bugs to block up those air holes of yours. That, my friend, is a true trump card." With that, he delivered a crushing blow to Zaku's head, knocking the Sound-nin unconscious.

"You see, this is a good example of why I don't want to fight Shino," said Kiba, as Hayate pronounced Shino the winner. The medic-nins made off with Zaku as Shino walked up the stairs.

"Kickass, Shino!!" said Naruto as he materialized in front of Shino and held out his hand. Shino looked at it, then, ever so slowly, shook it.

"Arigatou, Uzumaki."

"What the hell!? Get back to your team!!" shouted Kiba. He hadn't seen Naruto move at all, and it pissed him off to see Hinata blush every time she looked at Naruto. 'Just once, I wish she would look at me like that,' thought Kiba.

"There ain't any law that says I can't be over here!" Naruto shot back. The two glared at each other, then faced separate directions. Sakura came over and dragged Naruto away by his ear, muttering "Leave them alone, Naruto-baka."

In the meantime, Kakashi appeared with a "Yo!" "Don't 'yo' me! What about Sasuke-kun? Is he all right?" went Sakura.

'He's fine, he just sleeping at the hospital," said Kakashi, while thinking, 'With a couple of ANBU around him. No need to tell them about my little run-in with Orochimaru.' Thinking back, Kakashi knew in his heart that Orochimaru would have probably killed him and taken Sasuke had he fought.

In the meantime, the board had spouted out two more names: _Ryunosuke Hachi_ vs. _Kankurou_. Kankurou grinned and thought, 'It's finally my turn.' Baki narrowed his eyes at his student's recklessness, and Gaara thought, 'Idiot.'

As the teams watched, Hachi and Kankurou went down to the arena and faced each other. Hachi grinned and, holding his hands in the Ram Seal, said, "You should give up. Once I get a hold of you, it's all over."

Kankurou simply removed the package on his back and said, "Then I'll end this quickly."

Hayate moved back, and said, "Hajime." As soon as he did, Hachi rushed forward, disengaging from said seal, and grabbed Kankurou by the neck. Kankurou barely had time to react before Hachi began to glow a faint yellow. Electricity danced around him, catching everyone's eye, and with a grin he growled out, "KAI!!"

Kankurou was electrocuted. But the surprise didn't stop there, oh no. The bolts of electricity left Kankurou's body and traveled along a set path, illuminated by a set of glowing wires.

"Wait a minute. Wires?" said Ino as the teams watched the electricity travel down and dance around the package Kankurou dropped. Smoke began to rise, and finally, a burned arm fell out of the bandages. Kankurou then was dropped, only to reveal…

"A puppet?" said Sakura, wide-eyed with shock.

"How'd he do that?" growled Kiba, his eyes wide.

"Bioelectricity," came Kurisu's voice. He appeared between both teams. Pushing his glasses up, he continued. "Hachi was born with a… unique system, as were Kureji and myself. All three of us were born with large chakra reserves, but his unique trait allows him to draw in positive and negative molecules, so that he can create his own lightening at will, and process it through his body."

"Cool," said Naruto, watching as the medics carried Kankurou away and Hachi was declared the winner. Baki and Temari were both startled by what happened, and Gaara glared at Hachi with bloodlust. Hachi glared right back, his patterns given him a darker foreboding, as he and Kurisu made their way back to their sensei.

"Moving on," said Hayate, coughing a little. "Next match, Haruno Sakura vs. Yamanaka Ino." The two rivals glanced at each other, then made their way down to the arena.

"Mendokuse," said Shikamaru. This is a troublesome match."

"How so?" asked Chouji.

"If Sakura wins, then Ino won't stop bitchin' about it. And if Ino wins, then she won't shut up about it," explained Shikamaru. "As far as I know, we're screwed."

Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura had been throwing kicks and punches at each other. When that refused to work, the two kunoichis tied their hitai-ates' to their foreheads, then started doing their things.

Sakura opened up with a Bunshin no Jutsu, and one Sakura turned into three. Ino tried to anticipate which Sakura was the real one, but made a terrible error and received a solid punch to the head. From thereon in, it became a fist fight.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"This is taking too damn long," intoned Kurisu. The girls had been at it for ten minutes, with neither showing any sign of giving up.

The highlight of the battle, at least to the Cloud-nin, was when Sakura and Ino punched each other at the exact same time and sent each other flying backwards.

"They're scary when they fight," murmured Naruto, when Kakashi thought 'There's no end in sight if they keep up like this.'

Apparently, Ino was thinking the same thing when, in a fit of pride, after Sakura said that she (Ino) was weaker than she (Sakura) was, she cut off her ponytail, spreading platinum-blonde hair across the floor.

Putting her hands in the Ram Seal, Ino shouted, "I'm gonna end this now by making you give up!!"

Immediately, Shikamaru knew what she was going to do. "She-she wouldn't…!"

Ino did. Putting her hands in the Bird Seal, she confirmed Team 10's fears. "Geez, that idiot…" said Asuma.

"I know you're in a hurry, but that's useless," said Sakura, grinning.

"We'll see about that," said Ino. "Ninpou: Shintenshin no Jutsu. I'm gonna leave my body and enter yours, and make you give up."

'That idiot,' thought Asuma. 'Shintenshin travels in a straight line, and slowly to add. If she misses, she won't be able to return to her own body for a few minutes, leaving her body vulnerable to the enemy.'

"I've heard of this," said Kurisu. "It's a special ability of the Yamanaka Clan here in Konoha."

"So if she misses," said Hachi, "she's basically screwed."

"Pretty much."

Long story short: Ino managed to trap Sakura in a trap by pretending to do Shintenshin, but in actuality channeled Chakra into her hair on the floor, ensnaring Sakura in a Chakra Rope. Then she did the Shintenshin. However, she didn't count on Inner Sakura being in Sakura head, roused by a yelling Naruto. Inner Sakura threatened Ino with a true vision of Hell, and forced Ino back into her body.

'What the hell was that!?' was Ino's first thought back in her body.

'Ino shouldn't have been kicked out that quick,' thought Kakashi, his eye on the match below. 'It's true that Ino was low on Chakra, but the fighting spirit inside Sakura towards Ino, her rival, had a bigger effect than the Shintenshin. That was triggered by Naruto's voice, and once it had awakened, it kicked Ino out.

During Kakashi's thoughts, Ino and Sakura had leapt at each other for the final blow, but when the blows connected, the two Kunoichis knocked each other out. The force of the blows were so strong that they knocked off each other's hitai-ate's.

"Huh. A double K.O." murmured Kurisu.

"About damn time, too," growled Hachi. "I was about to end it myself if they didn't quit it."

"Down, boy," said Boufuu, and in response, Hachi gave him the finger when Boufuu wasn't looking.

Meanwhile, Hayate had glanced at the downed Kunoichis only once, and then gave his verdict. "Both are unable to fight. Due to a double knockout, neither Kunoichi pass the 4th Preliminary Match."

After Kakashi and Asuma had retrieved their charges, and the unconscious girls found themselves surrounded by their teammates, plus one Rock Lee and minus one Sasuke (obviously), the board went off. The two names that appeared were _Tenten_ and _Temari_.

Tenten appeared in front of Temari and Temari likewise. 'I'm psyched ever since that last match,' thought Tenten, sizing up her opponent.

"This will be an interesting match," said Neji.

"Do your best, Tenten!!" shouted Lee.

In the meantime, Sakura and Ino had made their peace, and Hayate began the 5th Preliminary Match. With Gai and Lee shouting words of encouragement, all Naruto was thinking was, 'These two are louder than I am!!'

Tenten's match was one-sided. Temari had dodged every attack Tenten threw at her using her giant fan, surprising Tenten beyond belief. Tenten knew she was an excellent marker, and she knew that she _never_ missed. So when she brought out _those_ two scrolls, her team knew she was trying to end the match quick.

But as it turned out, not even Tenten's Soshoryu (3A) was a match for Temari's Kamaitichi (4A).

"She shut down Tenten's weapon attack like it was nothing," said a shocked Gai.

Naruto stared down at Temari, asking "Who, or what is she?"

Baki said, "We are not to be trifled with." Gaara said nothing.

"That was boring," said Temari, as Tenten landed on Temari's fan, putting her back at an unhealthy angle. "Very boring."

"The shinobi from Sand," said Sandaime, "are truly fearsome."

"Fifth match winner, Temari."

At the triumphant smirk Temari gave off, Lee disappeared from Naruto's side and reappeared in front of the thrown Tenten, and caught her.

"Nice catch."

"Why did you do that!?" shouted Lee. "Is that not something you should do to someone who fought their hardest!?"

Temari, content with her victory, slammed the butt of her fan on the ground and said, "Urusai na. Take that trash and leave."

In response, Lee gave off a Konoha Senpuu, despite Neji's cries of "Stop Lee!" Which was blocked by Temari's fan. "You act like you dress," she said. "Stupid." When Gai-sensei appeared, Gaara decided to speak up.

"Temari, get back up here. You won. Leave that guy and his ugly guardian."

Lee and Gaara glared at each other, but Lee stopped at Gai-sensei's hand on his shoulder. "Let it go, Lee." Gai then turned his attention to Gaara. "Gentleman of Suna, a word."

At Gaara's glare, he continued. "He's strong. You might want to be prepared for it."

Kiba scoffed. "They're trying to pick a fight with the team from Suna? I'd NEVER want to fight them." He had seen first-hand how the team from Sunagakure had massacred the team from Ame. Or more accurately, how Gaara had massacred those three.

Hinata slightly nodded and added, "They're a strong team."

"Too true," came another voice.

Kiba swung his fist around, missing Naruto who had appeared behind Kiba, apparently trying to slip pass the dog user. "Keep playing, Uzumaki!! I'm gonna have your hide for a trophy!!" 'Eat that loser! Now it's just me and Hinata-chan, the way it was meant to be.'

Naruto was about to open his mouth to shout "Always remember to spay and neuter your pets, Akamaru!" when someone grabbed his ear again, and started dragging him away from Team 8. "NOOOOO!! Hinata-chan, save me from…" He looked up to see… "Sakura-chan?"

Hinata watched as Sakura berated Naruto for constantly antagonizing Team 8. 'Ano, Sakura-san… N-Naruto-kun was being friendly…'

"Also," said Sakura, a small grin, "Thanks for before. If it weren't for your passionate support…" She thought back to her match. "…I'd have lost to Ino easily."

"Damn straight," said Naruto, a foxy grin on his face, narrowly dodging Sakura's fist.

The board started shuffling names again, and Naruto and Rock Lee were giving out shouts of "All right!! Me next, please!!" Heedless of their pleas, the machine showed two names that were clearly _not_ either of theirs, much to their disappointment.

_Nara Shikamaru_ vs. _Tsuchi Kin_.

"Me, eh?" said Shikamaru as he made his way into the arena, with Ino shouting, "Shikamaru, don't lose!! Be a man!!"

Dosu cautioned his teammate, "He uses the shadows. Beware of them."

Kin smirked and said, "I won't fall for that stupid trick."

Once both were in the arena, Shikamaru groaned. "Hey ref, can I get a redraw?"

"Sorry, all decisions are final…"

"Damn," said Shikamaru. "Mendokuse… On top of that, I'll be dealing with a girl."

Kin, pissed about his earlier comment, replied, "Then I'll be sure to finish this match quick."

'I know what her teammates can use…' thought Shikamaru, as Hayate began the match, '… but I have no idea what she can do. On top of that, she saw my technique. And I can only this…' He put his hands into the Rat Seal.

As he tried to do his Kage Mane no Jutsu (5A), Kin dodged and threw senbon at him. When he dodged, he noticed that the two she threw had bells on them. "So that's your game? You throw the senbon with the bells, and I'll react to the sound, and notice the other senbon you throw." He grinned. "Clever."

Kin managed to trick him with chakra strings attached to the bells, which not only surprised Shikamaru so she could hit him, it also cast a Genjutsu every time he heard the ringing. Right now, instead of one Kin, he was seeing twelve. 'But which one's the real one?'

All the while, Kin was playing with Shikamaru, obviously prolonging her victory. 'Idiot,' thought Hachi. 'She's got a nice body and a pretty face, and her skills are pretty good too, but she's too damn arrogant, and that's gonna cost her the match.'

Hachi was proven right when Shikamaru used his Kage Mane to travel along the string and connect with her body. He drew a shuriken from his pouch, and she did the same. When he threw it, she threw it as well, screaming, "Are you crazy!?" When they both ducked backwards, she didn't count on her head slamming into the wall directly behind her, knocking her unconscious.

Bent backwards, Shikamaru grinned and stated, "A shinobi grasps the landscape and the situation before they fight." Standing up, he pulled the senbon imbedded in his out stating, "Even if we move the same, the distances between us are different. The shuriken was just to get your attention away from the wall."

"Shousa, Nara Shikamaru."

Dosu glanced down at the medics carrying away his teammate and muttered, "I'm the only left now."

Hachi, Kurisu, and Boufuu watched Kin being carried away as well. "Do you think she'd be useful for the plan?" asked Kurisu.

"Yeah," replied Boufuu.

"Just tell me where they're taking the injured…" said Hachi, "…and I'll do the rest."

When the board started, Kiba started counting off who was left. "Let's see… that Oto-nin, me, Hinata-chan, Naruto, Chouji, Lee, Neji, and that guy from Suna." Watching the board, he anxiously added, "And I pray to Kami-sama that I don't get matched up with that Suna-nin."

Neji, watching the screen, said in an undertone, "I guess I can have fun with the rookies this year…" He trailed off, casting a glare at Hinata, who looked away after noticing Neji's glare.

The names on the board stopped, saying _Uzumaki Naruto_ vs. _Inuzuka Kiba_.

"Kickass!! It's finally my turn!!" shouted Naruto, while Kiba shouted "Hells yeah!! We got lucky!! Let's kick his ass, Akamaru!!" Apparently, Kiba was forgetful of his previous fear.

Lee slumped dejectedly, murmuring, 'If I'm not next, then Sakura-san will call me Fuzzy-brows and hate me…'

While Naruto was cheering how he was next, Kakashi glanced at his student and thought, 'Naruto… show me, no, show all of us just how much you've grown.'

When Naruto and Kiba entered the arena, and Hayate started the match, Naruto said, "I got sick of waiting, and now its time to show off my moves!!"

Kiba growled and pointed, yelling, "Hey, you bastard, that's my line!! Just for that, I already got this match won!! Right, Akamaru?"

After Akamaru barked in confirmation, Kiba then pointed at Naruto again and said, "Hey, dead last, lets make a deal!! Beat me, and I might let you go out with Hinata-chan! Lose, and you gotta leave us alone, forever!!"

That struck a chord. "No deal, dog-boy!! Hinata-chan ain't some trophy!! Just for that, I'm gonna kick your ass!!"

Hachi started laughing. "I wish I had a camera, 'cause this is GOLD."

All Hinata heard was "Hinata-chan ain't a trophy", and she started going red. 'Na-Naruto-kun… I want to cheer you on… but I'm on Kiba-kun's team…'

Neji glared first at Naruto, then at Hinata, and said nothing.

Kurenai was thinking, 'There's no way Uzumaki will be able to beat Kiba', while Sakura was yelling, "Don't lose to this guy, Naruto!!"

After Naruto told Kiba not to bring Akamaru into the match, Hayate intervened on Kiba's behalf, saying, "Nin-ken count as tools, just like the Aburame bugs and a standard shinobi's kunai."

"Lucky bastard…"

Elsewhere, Chouji was saying that Kiba was lucky, Shikamaru scoffed, and the team from Cloud got ready to watch the fight. "Now, we shall see…" started Hachi.

"… How he does," ended Kurisu.

"Then we can see if what we believe is true…" ended Boufuu-sensei.

Kiba grinned as he watched Naruto. 'I don't know how strong he's gotten since he became a Genin…' He remembered back when he had first seen Naruto. Naruto had been a third-year academy student trying to be funny, who had no grasp of Shinobi abilities. 'Heh… and now, he's gonna face me, the top dog?'

Holding out his fist, Kiba said, "I'll take you out in one pity hit."

"Whatever, you can't beat me."

This proved to be an intriguing match. Kiba had opened up with Ninpou: Shikakyu no Jutsu, and charged Naruto, elbowing him in the stomach. Naruto flew a few feet, then lay still. A grinning Kiba was shocked when Naruto poofed into smoke, and Kiba was able to dodge the blow that came. 'When did he… What did he do?'

"Don't…" said Naruto, grinning at Kiba, "… underestimate me."

Oblivious to the cheers Lee, Sakura, and strangely Shikamaru were throwing him, he wiped some blood off the corner of his mouth. 'I still got hit a little… thanks to that Hebi-teme (3), my Chakra Control's all screwed up.'

"Hey, you're bleeding!! You're not all cool, so stop playing the tough guy!"

"Heh, take your own advice, dog-boy!"

Kiba growled and beckoned Akamaru to him, then reached into the pouch on his back, and threw some smoke bombs. The smoke was so thick, Naruto couldn't see anything. When he started getting hit, he knew he was in trouble. 'I can't see… where is he?' After another blow, Naruto decided to stop and think, for once. 'OK, think, what would the baka-kitsune do in a situation like this?' Deciding there to act like a fox, he channeled chakra into his ears.

This was a new sensation, as he could hear the low hissing of the smoke… THERE!! He jumped, narrowly avoiding the blow Kiba had thrown, and exiting the smoke.

He forgot Akamaru. The minute he saw the dog, he knew. Akamaru had jumped at Naruto and pushed him back into the smoke.

"N-Naruto-kun…"

"Damn, I can't see anything," said Shikamaru.

The smoke cleared, revealing the downed form of Naruto, next to a tail-wagging Akamaru. Kiba was ready to congratulate the running Akamaru, who proceeded to bite Kiba's arm, to everyone's shock.

Even more shocking was when Akamaru poofed back into Naruto, who immediately let go and started spitting, yelling, "You taste like dog!", whilst the real Akamaru was being held by a Naruto clone.

"Is that really Naruto?" asked Ino. "He's on even ground with Kiba… no, he might be better than him."

Kurisu had to say, he was impressed. "He used Kage Bunshin and Henge perfectly… He's everything we expected."

"Yeah," said Hachi. "He timed his movements perfectly."

'Interesting,' thought Neji. 'He bit Kiba on his own, then complained about it.'

"Naruto-kun, that was amazin-"

"Yeah, Naruto!! You can do it!!"

Kiba, however, was pretty confident in himself. He threw Akamaru a Soldier Pill, which made Akamaru turn red and get stronger. Akamaru broke free of the Bunshin, which poofed into smoke, and Akamaru rejoined Kiba. At this point, Kiba was anxious to end it there. He performed a Jyuujin Bunshin (6A), which turned Akamaru into a Kiba clone.

Things went downhill from there. Kiba and Kiba-Akamaru went on the aggressive offense, while Naruto was stuck on defense, and all he could do was dodge every blow sent at him.

At this point, Kiba and his clone pulled out Kiba's trump card, the Gatsuuga (7A). The two spun like twisters, connecting with Naruto, and sending him flying, to everyone's dismay.

He landed on the ground and stayed there, grimacing in pain. 'D-damn… that hurt… like hell.' He faintly heard Kiba say "And that's our difference in skill," and he was pissed off to no end. Shakily standing up, he growled out, "I'm… gonna become… Hokage! And I… won't lose… to you, dog-boy."

Kiba then said the words he would come to regret later: "You? Hokage? You're weaker than me." Grinning, he finished with, "I'll become Hokage for you!"

'Oh… Hell… NO!!' thought Naruto as he righted himself to glare at Kiba.

'That's wrong, Kiba-kun. Naruto-kun… isn't that weak. Naruto-kun is different from me, in that he believes in his own worth.' Hinata's thought went back to the last year. 'I really think… Naruto-kun is amazing. It's a very hard thing to do… to bear what no one else will bear…' That day, she had been watching him train. He had accidentally stabbed himself with the kunai he threw, which had rebounded off one of the others. He pulled it out and let the wound heal, oblivious to the wide-eyed girl far behind him.

She had seen the wound heal, then activated her Byakugan to be sure. It was then that she saw the two chakra sources in his body; one blue, and one red. She thought it was a random mutation in his body, until the graduation of Academy Students to Genin. Naruto was the only one who failed, and therefore the object of scorn. One person would say he failed, another would agree and say something, but then get cut off before the completed thought.

But she made the connection there. The glares, the hatred, the red chakra… It could have only meant one thing.

'He had… no one to help him. No one tried to recognize the real Naruto-kun. But now…' she returned back to the present. 'Everyone is watching…'

As she thought, everyone was watching. They watched as Naruto glared at Kiba and said, "You wanna fight me for the Hokage title?" Here he grinned. "You'll lose, and be the underdog."

They watched as Kiba told Naruto that he was gonna make sure Naruto wouldn't get up again, and then he lunged. He and Akamaru performed another Gatsuuga, and Naruto narrowly avoided it. When Kiba threw the smoke bombs again, Naruto was ready.

When the smoke cleared, there were three Kiba's instead of two. Which was all right with Kiba, because he was confident in his dog-like senses. So he threw a blow to the Kiba on his right, who upon hitting the ground, turned into…

"Akamaru!?" At this point, Kiba was confused, so he threw a punch at the other Kiba behind him, revealing the true Akamaru. With his back turned, the first Akamaru revealed itself to be Naruto, who placed a scroll on the ground and grinned, jump-kicking Kiba.

"Sugoi ne (4), Naruto-kun…"

"As to be expected," said Kakashi, a hint of pride in his voice, "…of a former prankster."

Gaara glared, while Hachi started to grin. "Looks like he's making a comeback."

"Yeah," said Boufuu-sensei. 'But could he be the one…?'

At this point, Kiba was enraged, but bit himself to calm down, assuring himself that he'd attack for an opening, and when said opening was found, end the match with a Shikakyu no Jutsu from behind. When Naruto talked about ending the match with a new move, Kiba was confused, but decided not to give him the chance.

With that, he started his last attack run. First throwing shuriken, then solid punches, then when he saw the opening, he went for it. Performing his last Shikakyu, he was behind Naruto before said Genin could counterattack.

Naruto was thrown up in the air, then Kiba aimed his claws for Naruto's chest, hoping to end the match. Naruto was able to block it, but at the cost of being stabbed. Bleeding from his arm now, he was mad as hell. But Kiba was just too damn fast…

Kiba was behind him again, claws outstretching, yelling, "Come on!!" Kiba was behind Naruto, ready to deliver the final blow.

Shikamaru saw Naruto grin, and immediately knew something was up. He was right, because right before Kiba hit him, Naruto used Kawarimi with the scroll he left on the ground.

The scroll that had a V on it, then promptly exploded in Kiba's face.

Kiba was caught by surprise, but even more surprised by the stench that come out of the scroll. Yelling in pain, he covered his now burning nose, while everyone else stared in surprise.

Naruto was laughing at Kiba's sad predicament. "How'd you like the stink-bomb, jackass? Pranksters Code: Be ready to prank anywhere, at anytime!!"

'So, a bit of the prankster remains,' thought Kakashi. 'But still, that was flawless.'

"I see," said Shikamaru, grinning. He didn't expect that to happen.

"Now I'm gonna get you back for those Gatsuugas, 'cause they hurt like hell," said the rejuvenated Naruto, performing Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Kiba was unable to defend himself as Naruto rained his Uzumaki Naruto Rendan on Kiba. When Kiba hit the floor, he was out cold. And Hayate confirmed it as Naruto's clones dispelled.

"Shousa, Uzumaki Naruto."

Though the rest of the Rookie Nine cheered him on, Naruto only really wanted the recognition of one person. Glancing upward, he saw her. Her shining face, that cute smile…

'She… she has acknowledged me. My will… my will to grow strong… I have grown stronger…' He grinned as he glanced at his bloody fist.

Hachi nodded in confirmation. "I would say he just proved himself, wouldn't you?"

Boufuu-sensei nodded. "He is the one we were searching for."

As Naruto made his way up the stairs, Hinata was debating in herself what to do. Finally, she decided on giving him the healing salve she had concocted. And said blonde took the healing salve, mostly out of appreciation, but also on Kurenai's suggestion.

In the meantime, Neji glared at the two rookies, malevolently plotting how best to end what they had. 'You seem so carefree… Hinata-sama.'

When Naruto rejoined his team, he was amazed to see that he still had the Kyuubi's healing factor. 'At least something works.' Inwardly, he was grateful for the healing salve Hinata gave him, because it dulled the pain he felt. Outwardly, he said "Hinata-chan's medicine works like a charm."

As the medic-nins carried Kiba and Akamaru away, Hinata caught up with them and tried to give Kiba the ointment, but he denied it, saying that she had to look out for herself. Then he said, "Out of all of us left, if you have to fight that Sand guy or Neji, forfeit right away. He's going to be harsh on you, and you might get beaten badly."

Before Hinata had a chance to respond, the board went off, revealing what she and Kiba had feared.

_Hyuuga Hinata_ vs. _Hyuuga Neji_.

"Shit and damnation," growled Kiba, as the medics carried him out.

When the two made it to the center of the arena, Naruto and Sakura were under the impression that the two were siblings. Lee informed them that Neji and Hinata were cousins, and that it was a bad thing that they were fighting, because of recent bad blood between the two branches that each came from; Hinata from the Hyuuga Main, and Neji from the Hyuuga Branch. As he was about to elaborate more, Hayate began the match.

Neji started out by belittling Hinata on how she should forfeit because she wasn't suited to being a shinobi because of her nature. When Hinata began to protest, it brought a memory back to Kurenai, of when she took charge of Hinata. She had met with Hinata's father, Hyuuga Hiashi, in regards to Hinata being a shinobi. Without a second thought, Hiashi told Kurenai to take Hinata to do with as she saw fit, for he saw his eldest daughter as "Nothing more than a defect who couldn't even beat her own younger sister who was five years younger."

When Neji started telling Hinata that trying to change herself was useless, that she was fated to be the failure of the Hyuuga Clan, Naruto knew he definitely stepped over the line, because that was an insult to him and Hinata. So when Neji started playing his mind games with poor Hinata, Naruto did what he always did when he got mad; he started yelling.

"Shut the hell up!!" When Neji looked to acknowledge him, as did the other genin, Naruto continued on. "You can't just label people like that! All that stuff you spout out is a bunch of crap in your head!"

'What a noisy guy,' thought Neji, but his eyes narrowed upon seeing Hinata. 'She looks… determined. Confident…' "So you're not giving up? Don't blame me for what happens later, then."

'Arigatou, Naruto-kun,' thought Hinata, as she activated her Byakugan. 'I won't… run away… anymore…' thought she as she slid into the Jyuuken (4) stance. "Let us fight… Neji-nii-san."

Even though Hinata put up a good fight, she was still no match for Neji. Neji revealed that he had been using the Jyuuken since he started fighting, and already Hinata was starting to feel the effects. When Neji hit her in the chest, she flew backwards and hit the floor… hard.

When Neji started on about his crap about how she was fated to lose, she shakily stood to her feet, saying that she wouldn't back down, that she was going to change.

When she started soughing up blood, everyone knew something was wrong. Kakashi said that Neji had more than sealed a number of Tenketsu (5), disabling Hinata's ability to use the Jyuuken. And yet…

She still fought. She fought to the limits of her ability, trying to follow her Naruto-kun's example. All those years of watching, him verses the prejudice of the village, he had proven his strength. Even though the beast lay within, she saw him as an inspiration; trying to change himself for acknowledgement. Inspiration turned into affection, and she saw him for who he was.

'When I'm watching Naruto-kun…' she thought as she fought, '…it makes me feel like I can accomplish something if I try. It makes me feel like I'm worth something…'

When Neji gave her a Jyuuken uppercut, he was sure that would end the match. But he was wrong, and annoyed when she stared at him through her vein-surrounded eyes, then charged him. So he did what he knew he'd take pleasure in.

He gave her a Jyuuken blow to the heart.

She fell to the ground, much to the chagrin of the rookies and Lee. When Neji told her that she was too weak to lay a finger on him, he deactivated his Byakugan and started walking to the stairs.

But she continued on. Finding her inner strength, she struggled to her feet, even as Naruto yelled out, "Look!! Don't stop the match!"

Neji, confused, asked her why she stood up. Hinata did not answer, but she was determined not to show weakness in front of Naruto. Incensed, Neji activated his Byakugan and rushed toward, ignoring Hayate's cries of "Neji, The match has ended!!", fully intent on putting her down for good.

Instead, he found himself surrounded by Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Hayate. "What's this then… more protection for the Main Family?" he muttered. It was when he felt a sharp point on the back of his neck that he realized that someone had a kunai on him.

Naruto had his back to Neji, and held a kunai in his left hand pointed into the back of Neji's neck over his right shoulder. "Had you continued…" growled he, "…you would have been dead before you hit the floor."

Ignoring his questioning on how Uzumaki had gotten down there that quickly, Gai reprimanded Neji, saying how Neji had sworn that he wouldn't bring in his troubles with the Main Family into the Chuunin Exams.

Hinata started coughing up more blood and fell to her knees. Kurenai rushed over and so did Naruto, and Sakura and Lee rushed over as well. On her back, Hinata saw the object of her desire, asking, no pleading that she was okay. Struggling with her breathing, she tried to utter the words she wanted to say, but was unable to. 'Naruto-kun…' she thought, her vision going dim. 'Was I… able to change… a little?'

Neji, having been let go at this point, said the glaring Kurenai with a smirk, "If you've got time to glare at me, then you could see how far along she is."

When the Medic-nins got there, they ushered Hinata onto the gurney, knowing that at all the internal damage Neji inflicted, she wouldn't last ten minutes.

Naruto was pissed. First, the Kyuubi, then the hatred of the villagers, then him finding out, and now this. He faintly heard Neji say something about "Once a dropout, always a dropout." Although Naruto wanted nothing more than to pin Neji's ass to the wall, he knew he'd get another chance. With his limited Jutsu knowledge, and a lack of Kyuubi, he would have been done in. So he reached down, dipped his right hand in Hinata's blood and held it out towards Neji. "I promise you… revenge."

Neji flinched. For a moment, he saw rage within those blue eyes. Eyes that flashed purple, with a cat-like slit… He shook his head. No, those eyes were blue, but had plenty of rage.

A while later, Hayate called the next match: _Gaara vs. Rock Lee_. When Gaara and Lee entered the arena, he began the match. Lee opened up with a Konoha Senpuu, which was deflected by Gaara's sand. The sand then tried to smash itself onto Lee, but dodged it.

Shino remembered the sand as the same that killed the three Ame-nin, and wondered if the same thing would befall Lee. Lee, however, was more energized, and launched into a flurry of punches and kicks.

While Lee was attacking and defending from the sand, Hachi narrowed his eyes and said, "That seems very familiar."

Boufuu nodded. "I heard a rumor about Suna. That they had a secret weapon."

Kurisu nodded in agreement. "And I guess… that that Gaara kid is the weapon."

Gaara had the sand in his gourd as an offensive and defensive weapon. The sand protected him from all Lee's attacks. It was here that Gaara started to feel the bloodlust IT was sending him.

It was also here that everyone found out that Lee was unable in use Ninjutsu at all. But then Gai found him, and molded him into a Taijutsu Specialist.

Gaara's next attack tried to smash Lee into the floor, but Lee had avoided the sand and leapt on top the fingers of the statue. And upon Gai's order of, "Take them off, Lee!", Lee revealed the weights on his ankles.

Boufuu narrowed his eyes. 'This could be… problematic.'

Lee dropped the weights, which rose up a massive dual dust cloud upon impact, startling the shit out of everyone watching. Lee's speed had increased dramatically; he was able to nearly hit Gaara, but the sand kept blocking. Eventually, he got a hit in.

Gaara was incensed. He was Sabaku no Gaara, the demon of the desert, and everyone feared him. He was _not_ going to be beaten by some tacky kid. So when Lee hit him again, he activated his Suna no Yoroi (8A).

Everyone was shocked to see Gaara in this state, including the team from Suna. Lee saw that he had no choice, so he unwrapped his bandages, and rushed around Gaara in a circle. Then with a kick, Gaara was sent airborne. Lee wrapped his bandages around Gaara, then spun. Used centrifugal force, he smashed Gaara into the ground, shouting, "OMOTE RENGE!!"

Lee dropped to the ground, having jumped before absolute impact. Gaara's cracked form lay in the crater that the Omote Renge had caused. Certain that he had the match, Lee, among everyone else, was shocked to see Gaara's face crumble away to reveal nothing.

An empty shell.

Feeling a sense of foreboding, Lee spun around to see Gaara rise up from the sand, grinning like a madman. Putting his hands into the Ram Seal, he used the sand to toss Lee around. At this point, Lee saw no other choice. He was out to prove that he was a genius of hard work, and he wasn't about to let Gaara take that away from him.

So he started to open THEM.

Kakashi was shocked and dismayed to learn that Rock Lee knew the Ura Renge, and that he could open five of the eight Inner Gates. Revealing his Sharingan, he explained that the Eight Inner Gates were limiters on the human body, and to open them would release the body from all inhibitions. But should one have all Gates open, in exchange for near god-like power, the person would die.

Lee's hair rose, his pupils disappeared, and his skin turned red as he opened the Third Gate, Seimon (6). Opening the Fourth Gate, Shoumon (7), his power increased dramatically, and he rushed Gaara, shattering the floor that he ran on.

The force of him hitting Gaara was so great, everyone had to shield their faces from the rubble and dust. 'This is DEFINETLY problematic,' thought Boufuu.

Gaara found himself airborne again, but this time, his armor started coming off. Lee was nothing but a blur, and Gaara was being tossed around like a carcass. Lee opened the fifth Gate, Hodoumon (8), and rushed Gaara again. Punching Gaara, Gaara was forced back, but snagged on one of the bandages Lee held. Pulling Gaara towards him, Lee did his final move.

"URA RENGE!!"

The force of the move was equal to a small explosion. Dust went everywhere, forcing everyone to cover their faces once more. No of the genin had seen what had happened, except for Kurisu and Hachi. "Damn," said Hachi, a hand covering part of his face. "If that spandex kid makes it through this, it could screw up everything."

"Don't be too sure," said Kurisu, pointing at Gaara.

Gaara had surprised everyone by revealing that his gourd was made of sand the instant before he hit the ground. Lee, having closed the gates in the air, hit the ground with a thud and rolled away from the crater. Everyone thought for sure that that did Gaara in.

Alas, it was not to be. Gaara was in the crater all right, but the sand that was his gourd had cushioned the impact. Not one to let an opportunity go to waste, Gaara raised his hand from his spot on the ground, but with great effort. His sand left him to wrap around the weakened Lee's left arm and leg. Even though Lee tried to move, he was still in pain from using the Lotus.

"Sabaku Sousou!!"

Gaara's sand crushed Lee's left arm and leg, and Lee let out a scream of pain. But Gaara didn't stop as his prey fell to the ground. He wanted to kill Lee, Hayate be damned. But before Hayate could step in, Gai had dispelled the sand that headed for Lee's body. The morose look on Gai's face brought up unwanted memories in Gaara; his feminine uncle that tried to kill him, his scheming father who tried to assassinate him, his younger innocent self, and his fearful brother and sister.

Clutching his head in pain, he hissed, "Why are you helping him…?" To which Gai answered, "He's… he's my precious subordinate."

The sand on the ground and Gaara's Suna no Yoroi formed on his back to make the gourd, as Gaara stalked away, and Hayate began to announce the winner. And yet…

Lee got up. He had his left arm and leg crushed, had opened five of the eight gates, and performed the Lotus techniques. By all accounts, he shouldn't have been able to stand up, but there he was. When it hit that he was unconscious, Gai was ready to break down right there. Lee was out to prove that hard work could defeat genius, even at the cost of his body.

"Shousa, Gaara," said Hayate, but his pronouncement basically went ignored by all except Gaara. Sakura tried to aid Lee, but Kakashi told her not to, saying that her presence would only hurt Lee, that it would make it harder on him.

Temari confidently said, "There's no one who can beat our Gaara," to which Hachi appeared next to her and replied, "He almost did, and not everything is set in stone. Even your mighty Sabaku no Gaara… can be beaten." Hachi then reappeared next to Hayate. Temari was visibly disturbed, while Kurisu said, "He just had to show off with the Shunshin no Jutsu (9A)."

Other than that, Naruto was the only other Genin who went down, passing a glare at Gaara as he ran past, towards Gai and Lee. While two medics placed Lee on the stretcher, the other one took Gai aside and explained Lee's injuries. Between the bone fractures and the torn muscles, that would have been okay to know that they would take some time to heal. But when the damage to his left arm and leg were brought up, Gai faced the prospect of Lee forfeiting his ability to become a shinobi ever again.

When the medics started to take him out, Naruto yelled at them, "What's fuzzy-brows supposed to do when he finds out!? Can't something be done!?"

When he was ready to chase down the medic-nins, Kakashi, and strangely Hachi, appeared behind him. "Calm down, Naruto."

"Demo, Kakashi-sensei…!"

"It doesn't matter whether or not he wanted to fight the Hyuuga or the Uchiha as much as he had hoped," said Hachi, his piercing brown eyes watching Gaara Suna-Shunshin back to his team, his (Hachi's) arm on Naruto's shoulder. "In fact, that's probably what caused this incident."

Kakashi made a mental note to delve deeper into the history of this Kumo-nin, but with one arm restraining Naruto, he finished, "To make those wishes come true, he used a self-damaging technique to try and win, and look at the result. He tried to abide by the wordless promise he made Neji, Sasuke, and even you. He tried to head for the stage so that he could battle all three of you." With his hand on Naruto's head, he finished with, "Don't forget that."

After making his peace with Gai, and with Hachi, Gai, and Kakashi using Shunshin back to their respective place, with Naruto running up the stairs, Hayate began the tenth match, which was obvious to all.

"All right, Kinuta Dosu, Akamichi Chouji, step up."

Dosu was engrossed in his own thoughts, as he came into the arena. 'I need to advance into the final matches and fight Sasuke-kun. Otherwise, I won't be able to meet your expectations, Orochimaru-sama. I've got a fair idea of what's going on, though. You got to Sasuke-kun before us, and gave him the Juin Fuin (9) instead of killing him.' Thinking about his teammates, he concluded, 'We were just pawns to test Sasuke-kun's power. Orochimaru-sama doesn't want Sasuke-kun's life, he want the whole Sasuke-kun.'

To be blunt, this was one of the shortest matches in the Prelims. Chouji opened up with Ninpou: Baika no Jutsu (10A), and then converted it to his Meat Tank. All Dosu did was move around a bit, then endeavored to make Chouji hit the wall. When Chouji was stuck, Dosu punched Chouji in the back with his Melody Arm, then flicked his Melody Device. Chouji came out of that unconscious.

"About 70 percent of the human body is made of water, and water conducts sound and electricity," said Dosu as he was announced the winner. As the medics attended Chouji, Dosu thought, "… Orochimaru, I will prove that I am NOT just some test subject."

'Thank Kami-sama, it's finally over,' thought Hayate, as he coughed a little.

'The Main Matches can finally begin,' thought Sandaime.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

(1A) Shukakutentou Jutsu – Reverse Order Technique

(2A) Zankuuha – Decapitating Air Wave

(3A) Soshoryu – Twin Rising Dragons

(4A) Kamaitichi – Cutting Whirlwind

(5A) Kage Mane no Jutsu – Shadow Imitation

(6A) Jyuujin Bunshin – Beast-man Clone

(7A) Gatsuuga – Spiraling Fang

(8A) Suna no Yoroi – Armor of Sand

(9A) Shunshin no Jutsu – Body Flicker Technique

(10A) Bakai no Jutsu – Weight Technique

(1) Mendokuse - Troublesome

(2) Gigan no Boufuu – His name is in the same styles as Kakashi's (Sharingan no Kakashi), with Gigan meaning "Artificial Eye" and his first name, Boufuu, meaning storm

(3) Hebi-teme – Hebi means Snake and teme means bastard; Naruto's reference to Orochimaru

(4) Jyuuken – Gentle Fist; Hyuuga Clan Taijutsu style of injuring an opponent internally

(5) Tenketsu – Another name for Chakra Points

(6) Seimon – Third Gate, Gate of Life

(7) Shoumon – Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain

(8) Hodoumon – Fifth Gate, Gate of Closing

(9) Juin Fuin – Curse Seal

Thank God I got done with this chapter!! I apologize for the length of the chapter, but I was trying to cram all the preliminaries into one chapter, with a summary of the fights and a little fight commentary.

On a side note, in the grand scheme of things, the story plot will explained over the next two chapters.

_Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: _The remaining Genin are matched up for the Finals, and a new player takes over Kabuto's spot as Orochimaru's right hand. But what's this, the Kumo-nin have a dark plan, and it involves Naruto!? And will Naruto get the recognition he deserves? Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: Trials of the Leaf! One Month of Training (Part 1)!!

_Rai Shunshin no Jutsu!!_ ((Author disappears in a lightening flash))


	4. Trials of the Leaf! Training Month Part1

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Nothing new to say, except I need tips on how to make Naruto break the ice with Hinata.

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**_Blah_**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 4: Trials of the Leaf! A Month of Training (Part 1)!!

"Well, that concludes the Preliminary Matches," said Hayate. Then when the match winners had assembled in the remains of the arena, he continued. "To those of you who made it to the third part of the Chuunin Exam… all but one are here, so congratulations."

Sakura surveyed the winners. There was Naruto, of course, and Shikamaru, Shino, and Neji. That accounted for Konoha, and there were the two from Suna, Gaara and Temari. Then there was the lone Oto-nin, Dosu. Lastly, there was Ryunosuke Hachi from Kumo. Turning to Kakashi, she started asking him about Sasuke, but Kakashi said, "I'm not sure about the details, but don't worry about him." Thinking back to the Fuuja Houin (1), he silently hoped it would be enough. 'It's all up to him now.'

"Sakura," he said, "I need to leave, so give me details on the main matches later." With that, he used Shunshin and left her saying, "Okay."

Down below, Sandaime tilted his hat and said, "I will now begin the explanation for the main matches."

'Thank God,' thought Naruto, who had gotten tired of waiting.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Outside, two figures met. They both wore the outfit of a Jounin, save that one had a pair of square glasses and pale yellow hair. This one was kneeling in front of his master, who he held true allegiance to.

"The preliminary matches have concluded, and now they're about to begin the main matches," said Yakushi Buki (2), the elder brother of Kabuto by seven years.

Orochimaru nodded faintly, gazing at a trio of birds. "This village… no, this country as become soft… too used to peace. The rest of the shinobi nations are busy increasing their military strength." Turning to Buki, he then asked, "Did you find out what happened to your Genin Team?"

Standing, Buki nodded. "The three of them were killed. Yoroi was burned from the inside out; I'm guessing he overused his Chakra Kyuuin Jutsu. Misumi was burnt to a crisp. And my younger brother," he grimaced, "Kabuto looked like he'd been mauled and eaten."

Orochimaru furrowed his brow. "Eaten?"

"Yeah," said Buki. "I didn't understand how Kabuto managed to get himself killed, but he was… everywhere. The only way I was able to recognize it was him was by his hair." He had seen Kabuto's remains, and it unnerved him how his little brother was killed. Granted, he didn't give a damn about Kabuto, but the plans of Orochimaru-sama come first.

Clearing his head, he changed the subject. "Do you think you'll be able to kill him?"

Catching on, Orochimaru grinned a little. "The old geezer? Yeah… but I don't think it'll be much fun to kill him now."

"Looks to me like you're hesitating," said Buki, pushing up his glasses. At Orochimaru's glare, he continued. "I mean, the Hidden Shinobi Villages are mobilizing for conflict, and Otogakure is one of them. The old man is the bullet, Uchiha Sasuke is the trigger, and you are the gun, are you not?" Buki had no love for Sandaime, for he was one of the rare few that craved violence, and being in Konoha was too maddening for his tastes.

"You're so observant… you could give your brother a run for his money," said Orochimaru.

"But why did you need those other three?" asked Buki, referring to Dosu, Zaku, and Kin.

"They were inconsequential," said Orochimaru. "Those three have outlived their usefulness, and now only serve one purpose: Fodder." Here he grinned even more. "But if you're so eager to prove your usefulness over your brother's, there's one thing I must ask you to do."

At Buki's look, he said. "Kill Uchiha Sasuke."

Buki almost faltered. "But I thought…"

"The Juuin Fuuin I gave Sasuke-kun has been sealed by Kakashi. Even though that doesn't matter, if the darkness in Sasuke-kun's heart disappears… I need you to abduct him."

Buki narrowed his eyes. "You seem in a hurry."

"It's that someone has recently caught my attention… Uzumaki Naruto."

"What, the Kyuubi brat?"

"Yeah. Sasuke-kun is an avatar of vengeance that cannot die until he kills his brother, and fulfilled his ambition. When he fought me in the Forest of Death, he engaged me without fear of death, even when he knew he couldn't win. I thought he was a more careful type of person." Gazing into the sky, he added, "According to the info of you gave me, the Kyuubi brat has probably changed his heart and goal." Licking his lips, he concluded, "Those two must be separated, if I am to dye Sasuke-kun _my_ color."

Buki narrowed his eyes, then turned away, intent on proving his worth.

"Buki-kun… if you intend to stop me… then kill Sasuke _now_."

Buki was startled by this. Granted Orochimaru didn't scare him, but those eyes were unnerving.

"You are strong, but only as strong as Kakashi-kun, therefore, not strong enough to end my life."

Buki was now locked in a staring match with his master. He slightly relaxed when Orochimaru grinned and said, "Just kidding. You can go now… I trust you."

When Buki used his Shunshin to leave, Orochimaru was somewhat intrigued by his somewhat new subordinate. 'That look on his face… I know he's stronger than his brother, but I could never tell what either were thinking.'

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Your matches will be shown in front of everyone," said Sandaime. "We wish for all of you to show off your prowess as the representative of your country. Therefore, the main matches will take place in one month."

When Naruto voiced the confusion everyone had on the time period, Sandaime continued. "The month given is the time that should be used for the necessary preparations. In other words, we're going to announce to the daimyos and shinobi leaders that the preliminaries are over. In addition, the month will also give you time to make your own preparations."

Hachi, sick of the metaphors Sandaime was giving out, asked, "What do you mean?"

"You will have time to analyze the information you gathered from the preliminaries. As I said before, the preliminaries were equal to actual combat situations, with each individual knowing nothing of their opponent."

Many thoughts went through the heads of the Genin, such as 'I didn't expect him to use sand as a weapon,' from Shikamaru, and 'And that's the way it's gonna stay… for now,' from Hachi.

"But the main matches won't be like that. There are some here who have used their full potential here, but the month given will help you improve."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Buki had gotten into the hospital and slain the three ANBU in Sasuke's room. "It is… unfortunate that fate smiled down on both of us," said he to the unconscious Sasuke. 'He is young, but with a dark heart at his age. He would use the power given to him by Orochimaru-sama to do with what he will.' Taking a scalpel, he put it up to Sasuke's neck…

…Then flung it at Kakashi, who stood in the doorway and caught it. "Excellent, Kakashi-kun. A word of advice: Have at least ten ANBU stationed next time."

Kakashi was visibly shaken by the dead ANBU he had stationed. "Buki, you were sworn to the allegiance of the village, not to pursue your own aims." Stepping forward, he asked, "Why did you try to kill Sasuke? Depending on your answer, I might have to take you to Ibiki."

"Ibiki doesn't scare me, Kakashi," said Buki, turning to face the silver-haired Jounin. "And as for my own aims… I just prefer to think of it as… changing hands. Shinobi are tools, are we not? And what business of yours is if I choose to change hands?"

Kakashi was silent, analyzing the Jounin before him. Buki was the sensei of Kabuto, Yoroi, and Misumi, and it was a well-known fact at this point that the three were dead. But he had his suspicions with Kabuto, and since Buki was his Jounin-sensei…

"Are you connected to Orochimaru?"

"You might not be able to prove that if you capture me now, would you?"

"Just answer the damn question."

Long story short: Buki pulled out a curved kunai and held it to Sasuke's throat, while Kakashi pulled his own kunai out. One twitch from Buki was all Kakashi needed, and he rushed the other Jounin, knocking him to the ground, while watching one of the ANBU rise up and run for the door, only to discover…

"Kage Bunshin?" The ANBU found himself between two Kakashi's. But then, another ANBU on the floor threw some kunai at the window and jumped. Kakashi didn't expect that, so when the ANBU between him and his clone fell to the ground, he ran to the window.

The ANBU below him was freefalling, and he removed the mask to reveal Yakushi Buki, smirking, and raising his middle finger at the gaping Copy-nin.

"Damn," growled Kakashi as Buki disappeared into the trees, and his Kage Bunshin poofed into smoke. He went to inspect the fake Buki, only to discover that the skin on Buki peeled a little. "A Hitokugutsu (3)?" said a surprised Kakashi. He knew without inspecting the newly fallen ANBU that he would find the same thing. "He erased his odor… muted his heartbeat… impersonated one of the ANBU he killed, and kept an escape route open." Kakashi growled at his own weakness. "A guy like that working for Orochimaru… I wouldn't be able to kill either, at the state I'm in."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Sandaime had that odd gleam in his eye, and Naruto didn't like it at all. True to form, Sandaime confirmed it with, "Before I let you all go, there is something important we must do before the main matches. Take a piece of paper from Anko as she comes by you."

"I'll walk, so take it in turns," said she.

After she passed them out, Ibiki asked if everyone got one, then to say what number they picked up. Dosu got 8, Naruto got 1, Temari got 7, Gaara got 5, Hachi got 3, Shikamaru got 9, Neji got 2, and Shino got 4. Marking down Sasuke as 6, Sandaime told them the numbers meant a tournament-style match-up, which Ibiki then showed them.

The first bracket was _Uzumaki Naruto_ vs. _Hyuuga Neji_, the second bracket read, _Ryunosuke Hachi_ vs. _Aburame Shino_. The third bracket said _Gaara _vs. _Uchiha Sasuke_, and the final bracket was the most confusing. It had _Kinuta Dosu_ vs. _Nara Shikamaru_, and the winner of that match vs. _Temari_.

The genin had their own thoughts at the match-ups:

'…This will require research.'

'Looks like my match come late in the game.'

'What? It's just a tournament?'

'Aw, damn. I've got an extra match, and I don't wanna have to avenge Chouji.'

'… Hmmm… the Kikaichu user. Should be a challenge.'

'Uchiha Sasuke…'

'Perfect.'

'Hyuuga Neji, right off the bat, eh? I wouldn't have it any other way!'

Sandaime then explained that even though the matches were in a tournament style, the possibility of Chuunins would depend on the rating of the judges, who would be the Kazekage, the daimyos, Sandaime himself, and the head shinobi. He said that even if some were to loose in their first round, there would still be a chance of them becoming Chuunin if their match was found satisfactory. But not everyone would become Chuunin, because winning the matches would depend on the contestants showing off their skills.

"That is all," concluded Sandaime. "We are adjourned until nest month."

'So,' thought Hachi, as everyone filed out, 'my second match could be against Uzumaki… I must inform the others…'

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Naruto went to the hospital and asked where Hyuuga Hinata's room was. But the receptionist said that visiting hours were over.

"Bull," said Naruto, clearly annoyed at the antics of this woman. He knew her as one of the people here who hated him with a vengeance. "Visiting hours are over at 11PM, and its 6PM right now."

"Visiting hours have changed," she said, whereupon Naruto sneezed rather loudly.

"Sorry," he said, wiping his nose on his sleeve, "I'm allergic to bullshit."

"Listen here, you little bas…"

"Naruto," said Kakashi walking around the corner. "Stop antagonizing the receptionist."

"Well, tell her to let me see Hinata-chan. 'Cause you and I know damn well, that if it were Kiba, she'd let him in a heartbeat," he argued, pointing a finger at the red receptionist.

'Oh, how I do,' thought Kakashi, as he thought to how disappointed his sensei would be with this village. His train of thought halted when he interrupted Naruto asking him for a favor. "Sorry, Naruto, I have something to do, and I don't have time to look after you."

Naruto knew it had something to do with Sasuke, so he pointed an accusing finger at his sensei, and said, "You're training Sasuke, aren't you!?"

'Shit, he's smarter than he lets on,' was Kakashi's thought, but his mouth said, "I found a better teacher for you. Better than me, even."

When Naruto saw who his new sensei was supposed to be, he started to freak out. "Why's the closet pervert my sensei!?" he yelled.

Ebisu, the private tutor of Konohamaru, pushed his black sunglasses up the bridge of his nose while muttering, "How rude!"

Kakashi, confused, deadpanned. "Ebisu… a closet pervert?"

When Naruto was about to tell Kakashi about his last run-in with Ebisu, where Ebisu fell for Naruto's Haremu no Jutsu, Ebisu panicked and clamped his hand over Naruto's mouth. No need for anyone else to find out about that shameful experience.

"I'll teach you anything you want later, if you keep your mouth shut," hissed Ebisu to Naruto.

"I'll hold you to that," hissed the blonde Genin. He would jump at the chance to learn a new jutsu. Blackmail was so versatile…

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"So…" said Boufuu, his back to his subordinates. He, Hachi, and Kurisu were currently on the Hokage Monument.

"The village has fallen into peaceable times…" said Kurisu.

"… But the plan will change all that," finished Hachi. "They took the wounded from the Preliminaries to the main hospital. That Oto-kunoichi would be useful to us."

"What about that Sabaku no Gaara kid?" asked Boufuu. He didn't want any potential monkey wrenches thrown into their machine of domination.

"He a Jinchuuriki, that is true," said Kurisu. "And judging from the rings around his eyes, and the sand, he's got Ichibi no Tanuki (4) in him."

Boufuu glared at the hospital through his telescopic eye. "They say that a Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi is among the strongest in existence. But I say otherwise…"

"Yeah," said Hachi, cracking his neck. "It looks like our info was right on the dot, about Uzumaki."

"About him being a Jinchuuriki?"

"Yeah," said Hachi, handing him a scroll. Hachi had snuck into the Shinobi Library, and copied down info on the Kyuu no Bijuu. The only person worth of mention in the library was the Aburame kid, but it didn't matter to Hachi. "I don't know about you, but he does resemble HER outwardly."

"Yes, he does," said Boufuu, regretfully. He didn't like talking about HER because he had a sore spot for people stronger than he was. Whether or not it was the fact that the two of them were part of the Raikage's Genin team before he became the Raikage, he still didn't like her.

Getting back on track, he reviewed the scroll. The contents on it stated that even though the Kyuubi was the strongest, there was only one other previous time that it had had a human prison. Though info was sketchy on the exact person, it had been 721 years ago, and the vessel was refuted to have had three whisker marks on each side of her face.

"I did a little asking around," said Kurisu, casting his eyes toward the village below. "Apparently, like the other Jinchuuriki of the world, he is well-hated. Therefore," he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "he could be persuaded to join us."

"But most likely," said Hachi, "it would have to be done during the upcoming battle."

Boufuu nodded. "Next time, Oto should learn not to have scouts lurking around the village," said he, opening his Jounin vest. Stapled inside were at least ten Oto Hitai-ate's, slightly bloodied, from the Oto-nin he killed. After he let one of them live in exchange for information, he let the nin go, then threw a kunai with an exploding tag tied to it at the retreating shinobi, who promptly exploded after it embedded itself in his back.

_**Flashback:**_

Boufuu was jumping through the tree outside the village. It had taken some persuasion, but he had managed to convince the guards to let him leave for a temporary time to Takigakure (5) and back, which in itself would have taken about three days walking.

Too bad the guards didn't know he wasn't going to Taki.

When he saw a grey blur a long ways away, he thought, 'Hello, what's this?' Pressing a button on his eyepatch, the telescopic lens zoomed in, and he faintly saw the grey-garbed attire of an Oto-nin.

He leapt from his spot, and like a true shinobi, stealthily made his way toward the opening in the trees where he saw the Oto-nin disappear. Once there, he saw eleven Oto-nin gathered together. Putting his left hand into the Ram Seal, he muttered "Meisaigakure no Jutsu (1A)," and vanished.

The Oto-nin were in a discussion on how the invasion of Konoha was going to go down with Suna, when one of the nin let out a gurgle, and the others turned to see a crackling, bloody hand sticking out of the nin's chest. The nin fell to the ground, and the silhouette of a humanoid figure appeared, surrounded with crackling lightening, and a glowing yellow eye, looking like a demon emerging from the darkness.

"So…" said the lead Oto-nin, "an intruder…" On one accord, the remaining ten Oto-nin leapt at the semi-transparent figure.

Boufuu then did something that the nin never saw, nor would see again. Spinning in a familiar stance, he expelled chakra from his tenketsu, in the form of lightening.

"RAI-ARASHI KAITEN (2A)!!"

The resulting dome of electricity shot out random bolts of lightening, which inevitably electrocuted all but one of the Oto-nin. That one that was left, was missing his left arm below the elbow, the result of a stray lightening bolt that hit him; it not only severed the lower arm completely off, it also cauterized the wound.

Boufuu turned visible again and stalked toward the lone Oto-nin. Grabbing him by the scarf around his neck, he brought the nin up to his face and glared through his one normal eye. "Why are you here?"

The Oto-nins response was to spit in Boufuu face, to which Boufuu drew a kunai and jabbed it into the burned flesh of his left arm. The Oto-nin screamed as Boufuu twisted right, then left, then right again, then withdrew the kunai, causing blood to pour from the wound.

"Why are you here?" he asked again, then added, "And refuse to answer again, and the next kunai I put in there is going to have an exploding tag on it." To emphasize his point, he drew said kunai.

The Oto-nin lost himself there. After soiling his pants, he told Boufuu of the alliance between Oto and Suna, and of the use of Sabaku no Gaara, the youngest son of Yondaime Kazekage.

Boufuu released the Oto-nin, who promptly took off. Waiting seven seconds, he threw the kunai with the exploding tag at the retreating nin, which embedded itself in his back, and promptly exploding, blowing the Oto-nin to bloody chunks.

Boufuu chuckled and moved onto the dead Oto-nin around him, stripping them of their headbands and putting them in his vest. "One trophy, two trophy, three trophy, four…" he hummed.

_**End Flashback**_

That memory brought a smile to Boufuu's face. He considered it a hobby of his to collect the headbands of the shinobi he killed in battle. However, he was brought out of his daydream by Kurisu's voice.

"Having the trophy fantasy again?"

Boufuu snapped his head around, and distantly knew he was going to suffer for it later. "Ignoring that, how long until Kureji gets out of the hospital?"

"Knowing him," droned Kurisu, closing his eyes, "he probably already escaped the hospital and is doing something stupid."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Shino had been sitting in the library, studying several scrolls on the human body. It was questionable why he'd be looking at medical scrolls, with his Kikaichu that proved superior over the human body. The answer was that he was delving into what the Kumo-nin Kurisu said about his teammate. And since Shino was fighting Hachi, he thought it would be useful to delve into what the human body could do.

'Interesting,' thought Shino, looking over the scroll. 'Ryunosuke Hachi was said to be able to harness his bioelectricity to an incredible extent, and yet, this scroll dictates that that should be near impossible. The most one should be able to do is convert their chakra into electricity, and that takes precision.'

Shino got an impromptu visitor in the form of one of his bugs. His loyal informant told him of the visitor to the Shinobi Library, Ryunosuke Hachi.

Shino furrowed his brow. That was odd. Foreign shinobi were forbidden from the Shinobi Library. Hachi was clearly looking for something. Standing up, he followed his bug, and it led him to a book on a table near the back of the library. It was an old book, which said _Myths & Legends of the World: The Kyuu no Bijuu_. _A Collection by Mikitan Biron_.

"The Nine Tailed Beasts?" said Shino, confused. "Why would Hachi want be reading this?" Deciding against his better judgment, he took the book back to the table he was at, and began to read…

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Naruto was having the time of his life. No, seriously, he was PISSED. Not only did Kakashi, his sensei, the man who was supposed to be teaching him how to be a better shinobi, shove him off to someone else, currently said teacher was trying to teach him how to water-walk. In the hot springs.

At which Naruto was doing badly. He kept falling in the water, which was SCALDING. Ebisu had said that if he didn't want to turn into a lobster, then he'd better get it right.

And so went the policy of trial and error. Naruto had nearly gotten it at one point, if not for the person he spied peeping into the female part of the springs. He was able to get out a cry of "HEEEYYY!!" before he fell in the water again.

Ebisu turned around to see a giggling white-haired man with a ponytail sitting in front of the fence. "I don't know who you are…" said Ebisu, rushing the man. "… But I will not allow such shameful acts in my presence!"

The white-haired man turned around and put his right hand into the Ram Seal. There was a puff of smoke, and the man was suddenly sitting on an orange man-sized toad. Ebisu realized too late who this was, as the toad's tongue wrapped around his waist, then slammed him into the ground, knocking him out cold.

"Don't make such a ruckus," said the man. "What's going to happen if I get caught?"

Naruto, who saw the whole thing, asked in his mind, 'The closet pervert got his ass kicked? Who… is that open pervert?' "Hey!" he shouted. "Who are you?"

The old man, who looked like a kabuki dancer, had a horned hitai-ate that had the kanji (Oil), and thin red lines going down his eyes like tears. He then went into a weird dance. "Glad you asked! I am Mount Myouboku's Gama-Sennin."

"Ora ora, Ero-Sennin!! You knocked out my sensei! He was supposed to supervise my training!"

The Gama-Sennin, who shall now be referred to as Jiraiya (since it's his name), shrugged and said, "He interfered with my data gathering." At Naruto's questioning look, he continued. "I'm a writer. I write novels like this," said he, pulling a familiar orange book out of his shirt.

Naruto recognized that book right away. Kakashi was always reading that book, and Naruto had a volume stashed under his mattress. The old "Porn-under-the-Mattress" gag never got old. He had first gotten it after seeing an angry wife throw it in the garbage, with her pleading husband clutching her leg like a little kid. Going over to the garbage, he took it home and started to read.

It took the better half of the night to stop his nose from bleeding.

'Course, he wasn't planning on letting Jiraiya know that, so he decided to punish the writer. And he did, by yelling, "That's a perverted book!! And your data gathering!? You were just peeking into the female baths!!"

Whereupon the two males heard the womanly screams inside the springs, Jiraiya angrily rounded on the young teen, and cried, "Bakayarou (6)!! They found out I was peeking!!"

"Perv."

"Idiot!! I ain't a pervert! I get inspiration from peeking to write better novels!"

Naruto was tired of playing around with the old pervert. If he had done it and gotten caught, then it would have been written off as a prank. If Jiraiya had gotten caught, he would have probably been beaten to within an inch of his life. "Enough excuses! What are you gonna do about my training!?"

"Training? You mean the water-walking?"

"You know of it? Then YOU supervise me!" declared Naruto, pointing a finger at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya walked past and said, "I could care less about your training."

After Naruto tried once more, Jiraiya told him that he didn't like people that didn't know how to ask for a favor, and that he liked girls. When Naruto tried to get him with flattery of Icha Icha Paradise, Jiraiya told him to quite lying, because people under 18 weren't allowed to buy or view the book. With that, Jiraiya took off.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Shino gaped at the information he'd just absorbed. This Mikitan Biron person had detailed information on all nine Bijuu. Here was an excerpt of what he read:

_Of the Kyuu no Bijuu, the strongest is the Kyuubi no Kitsune, who is also called the Kyuubi no Yoko. This mighty beast could raise tsunamis with one swipe of one of its tails, and level mountains with another. I have seen two Kyuubi in my lifetime: The first was when I was but a child, and the second when I had to witness the sealing into my adoptive sister. Luckily, the Kyuubi was able to save my sister, but she was forever marked by the Kyuubi by the whisker marks on her face (see Jinchuuriki, page 101)._

Next to the excerpt was a picture of a blue-haired girl with pale skin and red eyes. She was a pretty girl, with an exotic aura, and three whisker marks on each side.

Shino stiffened. There was one person in the village that matched up with what the author said. 'So, the adults lied to us,' he thought. 'And yet, they told us to despise Uzumaki, because he is a Jinchuuriki.'

Turning to the page suggested, he read what the author said on the Jinchuuriki.

_The literal translation of the word "Jinchuuriki" is "Power of Human Sacrifice". The Jinchuuriki are humans that used as vessels for beings such as demons. It is possible to seal a Bijuu into a human, but if it is to be done, it must be done at birth. The reason for doing so is because as a newborn, a human does not have their chakra coils completely formed, and they will be able to harbor the creature without major harm for the rest of their life._

Shino stopped reading. In a way, it made sense. Naruto had two chakra coils in him, and as a result, it played havoc with his chakra control. It also explained his stamina. He kept reading.

_Jinchuuriki were first used as weapons o war. A nation would capture a Bijuu, then seal it into a newborn. That newborn would grow up into a weapon that the nation could use against its neighbors and enemies. It disgusts me how the village that I originated in tried to use my sister as a weapon. Jinchuuriki, while sharing characteristics with the Bijuu within them, are not the Bijuu themselves. Because of this attitude taken by most of the world, Jinchuuriki are ostracized by society and mistreated._

Shino muttered, "How right he is." He felt disgusted with the village right now. The way they abused Naruto whenever he tried to get the village to recognize him as a human, not a weapon, was something unbecoming of the most peaceful village of the Shinobi Nations. After reading the next excerpt, he wouldn't have been surprised to see the end result.

_Typically, Jinchuuriki treated like this grow up to be lonely people who despise humanity. I was lucky, because even though my sister hated everyone else in the village, I still loved her, and she me. She became a Jinchuuriki to save the village, and yet those ungrateful bastards looked down upon her, and some even went so far as to rape her. I was able to stop them from doing the deed, but from that point on, she despised the village with a vengeance. I wasn't surprised when the next time it happened, she tried to kill the entire village._

That got Shino to think. The Kyuubi attacked Konoha thirteen years ago, and was said to have been defeated by Yondaime Hokage, at the cost of his life. But according to the book, the Kyuubi was too powerful to be killed by a human, and it had to be sealed in a vessel. So what the teachers at the Shinobi Academy drilled into their heads about the Kyuubi attack was false.

"But why?" he asked. "Why lie?"

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Naruto had finally tracked Jiraiya down to a small restaurant, where he heard Jiraiya get bitch-slapped by a female civilian who screamed, "HENTAI!!" Granted Naruto could've laughed at Jiraiya for his misfortune, but he needed training. Failing once again to dissuade the Gama-Sennin, he resorted to the only thing he could think of.

'Oiroke no Jutsu!!' In a puff of smoke, Naruto was replaced with a curvaceous blonde who'd turn any gay man straight. "Do you like me now?" she asked demurely.

"HELL YEAH!!" shouted Jiraiya, a stream of blood trickling down his face, while holding two signs that said "Perfect Ten".

Sweat-dropping, the blonde thought to herself, 'Are all men perverts?' Within her own thoughts, the old lecher was jumping all around, saying stuff like "You're my kind of girl!!" and "What do you call this technique?"

Answering "Oiroke no Jutsu…" Jiraiya responded by calling Naruto a genius. This led the girl to believe that Jiraiya would supervise her training. When he said he would, but on one condition, she tried to look as demure as possible.

When Jiraiya that Naruto had to remain like that around him, the indignant blonde went back to normal and shouted, "I knew it!! You _are_ just a perverted old hermit!!"

Jiraiya drew back and said, "I am not a pervert!!" At his new charge's blank look, he grinned and yelled, "I'm a Mega-Perv!!!"

After this, Jiraiya took Naruto to a river, here he made the blonde retry the water-walking exercise. Naruto tried a couple of times, but failed. Disgruntled, he threw off his clothes and was about to try again, when Jiraiya told him to mold chakra again. Doing so, Jiraiya instantly recognized the seal on Naruto's stomach, then noticed the Gogyo Fuuin (3A) over it.

'No wonder he can't mold chakra well. The Gogyo Fuuin is interfering with the other seals, and keeping the kid's chakra in conflict with the fox's. It was probably Orochimaru who put the seal on him.' Putting chakra into his right hand, he told Naruto to hold his hands up. When the blonde did so, he thrust forward yelling "Gogyo Kaiin (4A)!!"

He was surprised when Naruto dodged it then pointed an offending finger at him. "I knew it!! I knew it!! You were trying to kill me!!"

"Hold still brat, I'm just going to hit some pressure points."

"Pressure points my ass! Last time someone got near me saying 'Gogyo', I got my chakra control screwed over, while my teammate got a love bite from a gay snake!"

'Yep, Orochimaru,' thought Jiraiya, while he said, "A… gay snake? That's a new one." He sighed. "I'm just going to remove the seal that Orochimaru put on you."

"How did you know it was Orochimaru?"

"I used to know him. He was many things, though I had a suspicion he was gay. Now hold still." With that, he completed the Gogyo Kaiin. The seal off him, Naruto tried the water-walk again, and nailed it head on. While the blonde was jumping around in victory, Jiraiya thought it best to try to teach him how to control the Kyuubi's chakra.

As the sun began to set, Jiraiya was told by Naruto about his interaction with the fox, and that he could already harness the Kyuubi's chakra to a fair extent. Jiraiya was speechless, then he nodded his head. 'He's already grown so much. You'd be proud, Arashi.' With that, he ended the training for the day.

"Ora, Ero-Sennin. If you see that teacher of mine, tell him he owes me a Doton Jutsu."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The full moon was up in Konoha. Jiraiya overlooked the apartment his current student was sleeping in, and was approached by Ebisu. "Sorry about stealing your student," said Jiraiya.

"Not at all," said Ebisu. "But Hokage-sama was looking for you. He could not determine where you were at, though. He'll be pleased once he finds out you're in the village."

Jiraiya cast an eye at him and asked, "Did you tell Sandaime I was here?"

"No," said Ebisu. "But I told him about a goggled Kumo-nin who was peeping on the females in the hot springs."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Now he could get away with that. But as for me…" Turning his thoughts back on the Third, he added, "Since Sandaime doesn't know I'm here, let's keep it under wraps."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The shinobi stole his way into the hospital. He searched the rooms, but the object of his desire wasn't in any thus far.

Opening a door, he found it. Her long black hair, cute face, ripe body… It was her, all right.

'No time to lose,' thought he. He lifted her slightly up, and lowered his face. Like a vampire, he extended his fangs, and bit her. She moaned slightly, in pain or pleasure, he wasn't sure.

Through his fangs he sent the essence that would change her life forever. Not even her master would be able to slay her quickly.

His task done, he leapt out the window, jumping on rooftops like a true ninja in the night.

Seconds later, the watcher who had seen the entire thing followed him.

vvvvvvvvvvvvv

Sabaku no Gaara sat atop one of the stone fish on the pagoda that was the Hokage's box for the Chuunin Exam Finals. He stared at the moon, feeling IT growing stronger, feeling IT yearn for the day IT would rain blood upon the earth, the blood of ITs enemies.

'You're time shall soon come… Mother… Suna no Shukaku (7) …'

Gaara was cast out of his thoughts by a familiar voice that said, "This was unexpected… Do you not sleep?" Glancing down, he saw the form of Kinuta Dosu.

"I was planning on killing you here and now, to get a higher probability of defeating Sasuke-kun." Revealing the Melody Device on his arm he asked, "I wonder which is faster… my sound or your sand?"

Dosu was outgunned from the start. From the moonlight, he saw a shape rise from the stone that Gaara sat upon. He heard Gaara say something about IT's blood getting excited during a full moon, but all he could focus on was the horrifying shape in front of him. "What… What are you!?" And there, Dosu's life ended, in a cloud of dust.

When the dust cleared, from where Gaara kneeled panting, a jagged line had torn itself through the shingles on the roof. The line led through the mutilated corpse of Kinuta Dosu.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"That was incredible," said Buki, watching from afar with Baki. "Was that his true form?"

Baki was about to ask him about Dosu, but Buki cut him off in the middle, saying that Dosu's usefulness had ended some time ago. "I thought he was a guinea pig to test how strong that Uchiha kid was?" asked Baki.

Unknown to the two, at least for the moment, Gekkou Hayate was listening to the two conspirators. 'Our allies from Suna… they plan to destroy us?'

After Buki handed Baki the scroll that had an outline of Oto's plan, Gekkou had heard enough. Preparing to take off, he stopped after hearing Buki say, "One more thing… I'll clean up the mess."

"No," said Baki. "I will do it. As a shinobi of Kaze no Kuni, of Sunagakure… I must lend my aid to an ally. Besides…" he glared at the proctor through the solid wall. "There's only one mouse."

Gekkou and Baki met at the roof of a building. Gekkou tried to fight Baki. He drew his katana, and pulled out his prime attack, Mikazuki no Mai. One Gekkou became three, and the three danced around the astonished Baki in some bizarre dance. The real Gekkou leapt into the air, and slashed downward a Baki's shoulder. He was able to cut Baki, but not deep enough. Worse yet, his blade was stuck in Baki's jacket shoulder, effectively cutting off any possible counterattack.

"That was Konoha Ryu: Mikazuki no Mai. To have mastered it at such a young age… You are exceptionally talented," said Baki, an evil grin on his face. Gekkou didn't like it, and he was proven right when Baki raised his arm and used the other to grasp the sword in his shoulder. "Your sword technique was excellent… But how can it compare to Blades of Wind?"

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Two lives were lost this night," said Hachi, as he watched Baki leave the mutilated body of Gekkou on the roof. "Poor Kinuta Dosu… poor Hayate Gekkou… so young, so full of life…" he cast a glance at the shadows behind. "Ne, Zaku-kun?"

Abumi Zaku stepped out of the shadows. He had followed Hachi from the hospital, and was intent on discovering the plans of this Kumo-nin. Perhaps that would redeem him in the eyes of Orochimaru-sama.

"What did you do to Kin?"

"I gave her a gift," answered Hachi, turning to face the Oto-nin with both arms in slings. "She will truly appreciate it, and Kumo will appreciate her."

Zaku drew his good arm out of the sling, wielding a kunai. "I don't care for Kin, but I will present your cold, dead corpse to Orochimaru-sama."

Hachi began to chuckle, then he laughed, and spread his arms to Zaku. He laughed, while at the same time, began to glow.

The glow illuminated Zaku's face, which was terrified by the malevolence that came from this Kumo-nin. "What-what the hell are you!?"

The last thing Zaku heard was Hachi laughter, as his scream filled the night sky, followed immediately by a flash of light and a resounding low thunderclap.

"And this," said Hachi, to the fried corpse that once was Abumi Zaku, "makes the third. Now," said he, turning to the pagoda roof that Gaara was on, "let's have a little chat… Gaara-chan."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

When Naruto woke up, he felt the need to go to the hospital, to see how Hinata was doing. Whether it was that erotic dream he had about her or his own feelings, he didn't know. He just wanted to see that she was all right. Getting dressed in his orange jumpsuit that he was promising to burn later, he set out.

The sun had risen into the sky, which suggested that it was at least seven or eight in the morning. Ignoring how slightly chilled he was, he walked to the hospital. 'Hey, fox?'

"**Yeah?**"

'I need you to tell me who my parents were.'

That caught the Kyuubi by surprise. "**What makes you think I know your parents?**"

'You're the Kyuubi! You've seen all and know all!'

"**That doesn't mean a damn thing. Hell, I've haven't seen plenty of stuff yet.**"

'Like what?'

"**Like whether or not you have grandkids with the Hyuuga girl you dreamt about.**"

That made Naruto face-fault. 'You bastard!! What are you doing, looking at my dreams!?' All he got in response was the Kyuubi's raucous laughter. "Damn bastard," he muttered, going red.

_**Dreamscape: Last Night**_

_He felt encompassed by her warmth. Surrounding him, her very touch was driving him insane._

_She was on her back against a tree, and he stood in front of her. Her moans, her sighs, they drove him wild. She had the scent of lavenders, and he knew that before the night was over, she would have his scent on her._

_He stiffened, groaning out her name. "Hinata-chan…"_

_Her legs wrapped around his waist, she sighed out his name. "Naruto-kun…"_

_And then all went white._

_**End Dreamscape**_

Naruto shook his head, arriving at the hospital, but opted to climb the wall to avoid that bitch of a secretary he knew was there. "I probably can't even look her in the face," he muttered, as he climbed up the wall.

After searching through the windows for about fifteen minutes, he found her room. Silently pulling the window open, he slipped in. He gazed down at this angel of beauty. She was… more than he deserved. And he knew it.

His heart wrenched when he heard her cough. 'Fox, you think you can help her?'

"**Probably,**" said the Kyuubi in his head. "**Put your hand over her chest.**" Kyuubi guffawed at Naruto's heart-attack. "**You know what I meant.**"

"I was starting to think otherwise," muttered Naruto, as he hovered his hands over Hinata's chest. He couldn't help but notice that she had a nice rack for a girl her age…

He shook his head. "Last thing I want is Hinata-chan accusing me of trying to molest her," her muttered, as he concentrated on his task.

The blood red chakra left his hands and dove into her small body. After several seconds, Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he heard Hinata's breathing ease. Withdrawing the chakra, he muttered a small prayer to God for Hinata, then walked towards the window.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned around slowly, to see Hinata sitting up in the hospital bed. He moved before he thought. A second later, she was enveloped in his arms, and he was whispering that he was glad that she was okay.

Hinata had gone redder than blood by the contact with her love, but she willed herself to not faint. "Naruto-kun… I feel…"

"Yeah," said Naruto, scratching the back of his head. The two were silent for a while, until Naruto spoke. "I should go, 'cause no one knows I'm in here."

"Y-you mean that you snuck in?"

"Hai," said he, dropping his head a little. "They wouldn't let me in. I guess its because…" he trailed off, not wanting to mention the Kyuubi.

But she knew. She had seen it in the eyes of nearly every adult. "Naruto-kun…"

Naruto stood. He was getting ready to cry, which was a big deal for him. "Hinata-chan… I like you… a lot…" he began, whereupon she gazed wide-eyed at him, "… but I don't think you'd be happy with me."

She asked, "Why?"

Naruto inhaled, then exhaled, and told her the words he was sure would send her run screaming: "How can you… a proverbial goddess… like a guy like me… a demon vessel?" He closing his eyes, partially to avoid the horror he knew was on Hinata's face, partially to stop the tears from falling.

What happened next surprised him. He opened his eyes at the feel of a warm hand on his cheek. He saw Hinata, gazing at him with those lavender eyes he had fallen in love with. She had tears streaming down her cheek… but she was smiling.

Then she moved in, and the two shared their first-ever real kiss. Eyes closed, lip-lock, the works. When they separated, Hinata spoke first. "I don't care about the Kyuubi."

His mind went blank. When he came back to earth, he asked, "H-How?"

Hinata blushed and looked down. "Around the end of the Academy, I saw you training. You threw a kunai that rebounded and hit you in the arm. I watched it heal, and I made the connection later at the graduation."

"S-so you don't care about the fox?"

She shook her head. "No. Everyday the Kyuubi stays within you, you save the village for another day. And I--" she was cut off by Naruto pressing his lips to hers once more. She let out a little squeak, then fell into it. Naruto was quickly becoming addicted to her. The shape of her against him… Against her lips, he murmured, "Aishiteru (8), Hinata-chan," and she replied in response, "Aishiteru, Naruto-kun…".

The two went on for about thirty seconds before the door burst open. Kiba barged in, saying "Konnichi wa, Hinata-chan!!", followed by a nurse, Sakura, and Ino, who was carrying a bouquet.

Kiba gaped at the scene before him. Hinata was kissing Naruto, Naruto was kissing Hinata, Ino and Sakura were staring, the nurse was staring, Naruto was staring back—

With a roar, Kiba lunged at Naruto, who jumped apart from Hinata, and out the window, uttering a quick "Sayonara, Hinata-chan!"

The blushing Hinata was grabbed by Kiba who said, "Are you all right Hinata-chan!? He didn't hurt you did he!?"

"No, Kiba-kun…"

"Ora, Baka-inu (9)," came Naruto's voice. "Leave Hinata-chan alone!"

Kiba growled and ran to the window, snarling, "I'm gonna turn you into a fox-skin pelt!!" Looking down, he saw a kunai flying at him. He caught the kunai and noticed that it had a white piece of paper tied to it. Unwrapping the paper, he turned purple with rage at what he saw. Hinata, Ino, and Sakura, leaned in to see, the nurse having been gone at this point. Hinata immediately blushed, Sakura muttered, "Bakayarou,", and Ino laughed a little.

The paper had a picture of a human fist with the middle finger up.

Kiba leaned out the window and yelled out, "Real cute Naru-tard!! Is that your IQ!?"

Naruto's voice answered "Naw, that's your sperm count, Ki-bitch!!"

Ino couldn't take it. She started to laugh, and Hinata giggled a little. Kiba gaped at the comeback Naruto sent him, and Sakura said, "You owe me fifty ryou, Ino."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

(1) Fuuja Houin – Evil Sealing Method

(2) Buki – translated means "armaments", in reference to military weaponry

(3) Hitokugutsu – a type of puppet used by certain shinobi; most well-known hitokugutsu

are Kankurou's Kurasu, and Sasori's Sandaime Kazekage

(4) Ichibi no Tanuki – One-tailed Tanuki/Racoon Dog. Official designation of Shukaku

(5) Takigakure – Hidden Waterfall Village

(6) Bakayarou – along the lines of idiot and dumbass

(7) Suna no Shukaku – Official title of the One-tailed Tanuki. Originally said to have dwelt in the desert in Kaze no Kuni

(8) Aishiteru – I love you

(9) Baka-inu – Naruto's insult for Kiba; meaning idiot dog

(1A) Meisaigakure no Jutsu – Hidden Camouflage Technique. Renders user invisible to the naked eye. However, it can be seen through with the Byakugan and the Sharingan.

(2A) Rai-Arashi Kaiten – Lightening Storm Heavenly Spin. Similar to the Hakkeshou Kaiten, it doesn't require the Jyuuken, and it shoots out bolts on lightening as it spins.

(3A) Gogyo Fuuin – Five Elements Seal. Disrupts the Kyuubi chakra and keeps it separate from Naruto's.

(4A) Gogyo Kaiin – Five Elements Unseal. Releases the Gogyo Fuuin.

_Next time on_ Wrath of the Dragon: _Shino goes to see the Hokage, and Naruto learns new jutsu! And it's unofficial: Naruto and Hinata are a couple! But will their forbidden love last through the prejudice of the village? And what is with the Kumo-nin? Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: Truth & Lies! One Month of Training (Part 2)!!

Well, it took me long enough. I won't be around for a while, because my clan (yes, I have a clan, it's just my family) is coming together to mourn the passing of my Grandfather, the Clan Elder.

Until I return, review so I won't get Writer's Block. And send any comments that pertain to questions surrounding the story. Sayonara! ((_Rai Shunshin no Jutsu_))…


	5. Truth and Lies! Training Month Part2

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Thanks for the reviews; I see people really liked that last part of the chapter. Input would be good for the other stuff, though. Another thing, the new stuff will be coming up in the next few chapters.

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**_Blah_**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

_**Answer to reviews:**_

**Samael, The Desolate One: **Sorry, got tired of not being able to meet up with you, so I went and got the Sand. You can keep Mist if you want to, unless you want to trade…

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 5: Truth and Lies! A Month of Training (Part 2)!!

Naruto was still chuckling to himself of he and Jiraiya went back to the same place they were at before. Immediately, the two heard the sounds of giggling, and Jiraiya was off like a shot.

Peeping through the bushes, he saw three girls, probably about 18, splashing each other in front of the waterfall. "Very nice," said the lecher of a Sannin. "Very nice, indeed."

"Hey," went Naruto, his mood effectively soured by Jiraiya's antics.

When Jiraiya kept looking, Naruto finally took drastic measures.

Jiraiya was surprised to see the three girls joined by another one, a blonde. "Hells, yeah…" squealed Jiraiya, up until he saw the whisker marks on her cheeks. "Wait a minute…"

He spun around to see Naruto on the other side of the river, but the blonde was pointing at something behind the Sannin. When Jiraiya turned around, he came face-to-face with three angry girls.

"Damn you, gaki…" was all Jiraiya got out before the four rained their righteous feminine fury upon him. Jiraiya, the lecher that he was, decided to take the beating in stride, but managed to cop a feel twice.

When the girls were done, they got there stuff and left. Jiraiya was stuck lying on the ground with a mass of bruises all over his body. When he saw his student above him, he asked, "You like seeing me in pain, don'tcha?"

Naruto retorted, "It was your own fault."

Standing shakily to his feet, Jiraiya stretched himself. "Just for that, I shouldn't teach you, but since you're my student, I'm obligated to do so."

Kneeling in front of Naruto, he began. "You remember I asked you about your chakra and the Kyuubi's chakra?" On Naruto's confirmation, he continued. "Because of your unique condition, the nature of the move I'm about to teach you requires that you be able to use the Kyuubi's chakra and your own."

"What move?"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Watch carefully." With Naruto's attention on him, Jiraiya bit his thumb, and smeared some blood on his hand. Then performing the seals Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, and Ram; he plunged his hand to the ground, yelling, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

A cloud of smoke erupted, and when it cleared, the toad from the day before, appeared, with Jiraiya on its back. The toad had Jiraiya's scroll in its mouth, and then extended the scroll towards Naruto. Naruto took the scroll and opened it.

"That," Jiraiya said, "is the Summoning Contract with the Toads. It has been passed down many generations, and currently, I am the holder. First," he continued as Naruto laid the scroll down of the ground, "write your name in blood, and then put a handprint below that." Sitting down, he added, "Then, mold chakra and place the hand you used on the contract to where you want to summon the thing. The seals are Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, and Ram. "

After Naruto wrote his name and left the handprint, he said, "That it?", whereupon Jiraiya told him to try to summon something with his chakra. Performing the seals, Naruto did the technique. What showed up surprised the both of them.

A small orange toad with a blue vest appeared as the smoke cleared. He was saying, "So Hebimaru was telling me how much his dad hated his current summoner, 'cause his summoner likes little boys and all…"

Blinking, the little toad looking around, saying, "Hey, this ain't home. Where's Gamatatsu?" Looking up, he saw the gaping Naruto and Jiraiya. "Hey! Who're you?"

Naruto recovered and said, "Uzumaki Naruto. And you are?"

"Gamakichi," said the toad. "Now gimme a cookie."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

In the time this was going down, five ANBU surrounded the corpse of Hayate Gekkou. The purple-haired cat-masked ANBU held his sword, and then muttered, "Hayate-kun… What happened to you…?"

Behind the ANBU were two additional bodies, one was the mutilated body of Kinuta Dosu, and the other was an unrecognizable figure that had apparently been fried.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, had a grand majority of the Jounin there assembled for a meeting, and his Hokage hat was off. Beside him were his two former teammates, now members of the Shinobi Council, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

"I'm sure you've already heard this," said Sandaime, "the body of Hayate Gekkou was found near Kikyou Castle."

There were cries of "What?" and "Hayate?" , followed by Anko's "Did Orochimaru kill him?"

"It's too early to conclude that," said Kakashi, glancing at Anko. "Hayate was most likely trailing the Oto-spy Buki. But it is true that Orochimaru is trying to pull off something."

"Then we must cancel the Chuunin Exams, and go after Orochimaru…" said a brown-haired Jounin with a scar covering the left side of his face. This was Namiashi Raido, one of the aides to the Hokage.

"No," said Sandaime. "Orochimaru threatened us not to cancel the exam after he revealed himself to Anko. And the Chuunin Exam is where the ninja of all our allies participate."

"What do you mean?" asked Homura.

"Orochimaru has enough power to conquer a small country. After he left the village, I'm sure that all the other villages had their eyes on him. He harbors a grudge against Konoha… any of our enemies would want him."

"Then can it be," asked Raido, "that our allies have conspired with Orochimaru to destroy Konoha?!"

As Kakashi elaborated that the alliances between the villages were not more than verbal agreements, Sandaime lowered his head slightly. "We have received," he began, "an anonymous report that Suna and Oto will attack Konoha during the final part of the Chuunin Exam."

As the gasps of horror that erupted from nearly every Jounin in the room, he continued. "We do not know yet if this can be confirmed, but we cannot afford to make mistakes. However, should it come to pass…" here he gave a little grin, "we will assemble all of Konoha's power and fight."

With that, the meeting had ended, and the Jounin began filing out of the room.

"One more thing."

At Sandaime's voice, the Jounin did a slight left-face. "Along side Hayate's body were two others. Both of them were the two Genin from Otogakure." At the furrowing of brows, he continued. "The first was mutilated as badly as Hayate had been, while the second was only recognizable by a remnant of his clothing." He then said, "I don't see why their deaths should be relevant, but I know this: There is another player in this game of the hunt."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Sakura was depressed. First, she and Ino had gone to the hospital to try and see Sasuke, only find out that he was missing from his room. Sakura immediately remembered Orochimaru's words, and asked herself, 'Why did you leave Sasuke-kun?'

When she and Ino went to see Lee, the bushy-browed Genin was missing from his room too, but they saw him outside, doing one-arm push-ups. The nurse ran outside to try and dissuade him, and Ino and Sakura followed.

"… 190… If I can't do 200 one-arm push-ups, then I'll do 100 leg squats! 191…" said the injured Genin to himself. When the nurse came to try and make him go back to his bed, he yelled, "Please do not touch me! Please… do not interrupt my training."

That sparked a memory in Sakura. She had gone to Ino's flower shop to get flowers for Sasuke, then got one for Lee. Ino looked crestfallen at the mention of Lee, and told Sakura that Lee had been seriously injured against Gaara, and was more than likely unable to be a Shinobi again.

Which is why it broke her heart to see Lee slowly push himself to the brink of destruction. He had reached 199 right before he collapsed. The nurse, Sakura, and Ino rushed him, with the nurse reaching him first.

"Please keep an eye on him," said she standing up. "I'm going to get a stretcher."

When she was gone, Ino and Sakura knelt beside the unconscious Lee, who had been rolled over onto his back. The sorry state of Lee touched Sakura's heart, and she felt horrible. Lee was killing himself, all so she'd acknowledge him, like she acknowledged Sasuke.

"Hey, Ino… why do boys push themselves so hard?" she asked. After a moments hesitation, Ino's response was, "Don't ask me… I'm a girl."

vvvvvvvvvvv

During this time, Naruto had been playing with Gamakichi, while Jiraiya had been at it again with hiding in the bush. This time, there were four girls splashing each other in front of the waterfall, and Jiraiya was giggling like a little schoolgirl.

"Ora ora, Gamakichi," said Naruto to the toad on his head. "I just had an idea."

"Shoot, nii-chan."

While the two schemers were concocting a plan, Jiraiya kept giggling and muttering, "Kawaii…"

At least, until he saw a small orange toad jump into view. Said toad ribbited slightly, and the ditzy women cooed and gathered around the little creature. Jiraiya turned his head slightly to see a shrugging Naruto, then turned back to see one of the girls holding a visibly grinning Gamakichi to her chest.

"Those little bastards," growled Jiraiya, as Gamakichi stuck his tongue out at the Gama-Sennin from his vantage point.

Jiraiya waited until the women left and petted Gamakichi on his head, saying "Sayonara, Gama-chan", then waited for Gamakichi to hop over to them. "Had fun, did we?" he all but growled to the grinning toad.

"Yep."

Growling, Jiraiya turned to Naruto, who at this point had Gamakichi on his head again, and told him to use the Kyuubi's chakra to summon a bigger toad. "Sure, Ero-Sennin," went Naruto, to which Jiraiya yelled, "Stop calling me that!!"

Going through the seals, Naruto called on Kyuubi's chakra, and plunged it into the ground, screaming, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

There was a massive cloud of smoke, and out of the smoke came a voice yelling, "**JIRAIYAAA!! DAMN YOU, JIRAIYAAA!!**" When the smoke cleared, it revealed a toad as large as the Hokage tower, wearing a blue yukata top and a knife at his side. In his mouth was a giant pipe, which puffed out smoke as he exhaled.

"Oh, crap," muttered Jiraiya. He was impressed that Naruto managed to summon Gamabunta, the Toad Boss, the Chief of all the Toads (many titles, no?), but frankly, Gamabunta detested Jiraiya because of his habits.

"Whoa," went Naruto on Gamabunta's head. He was sitting down, and Gamakichi was patting his head, saying, "That'll do, nii-chan. That'll do."

At any rate, Gamabunta, feeling the small pressure on his head, glanced upward and said, "**Oi, gaki**. **Who're you, and where's that lech Jiraiya**?"

Naruto replied, "Name's Uzumaki Naruto. And I think Ero-Sennin's hiding in one of those bushes." Pointing at the bushes in front of Gamabunta, he was barely able to see a tuft of white hair.

"**JIRAIYA!! COME ON OUT, JIRAIYA!!**" yelled Gamabunta. When said man came out of the bushes, the giant toad asked "**Why did you summon me**?"

"Oi, pops. Nii-chan here summoned you."

At the new voice, Gamabunta looked up again to see his spawn perched on the blonde's head. "**Gamakichi, stop lying for that gaki on my head**."

"Actually 'Bunta, he's right," said Jiraiya. When said giant toad glared down at Jiraiya, he merely pointed to the open Summoning Scroll on the ground. True to form, the last name to be signed was Naruto's.

"Told ya, booooosssss…" went Naruto as he passed out on Gamabunta's head. As Gamakichi leapt off Naruto's head before it head Gamabunta, Gamabunta looked up and muttered, "**Looks like the little gaki was right.**" However, when he looked down, Jiraiya had disappeared, and so had the summoning contract. "**Lousy lech**," muttered Bunta, then glanced up at the knocked-out blonde on his head. '**The blonde's lucky. Besides him, no else has ridden on my head, other than Arashi.**'

With that Gamabunta took off, in the direction of the Konoha Hospital. The hospital would later comment that they found Uzumaki Naruto next to a giant frog-shaped footprint, with a note attached to his jacket:

_Take care of Nii-chan or else the Gamas will eat you._

_Sincerely, Gamakichi._

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

At the hotel, Kankurou watched as Chouji, Shikamaru, and Asuma went into the Barbeque place across from them. He had recovered from his wounds inflicted by Hachi. Needless to say, he was surly at the mention of the Kumo-nin, but right now, he concentrated on the Jounin and two Genin. He currently had his headpiece off, revealing a crop of brown hair, but still kept the face-paint. "Having Barbeque again… It must be a reward for training like they were supposed to." Turning to his sister, he added, "And the best thing about this is I don't have to watch Gaara."

"Why?" asked Temari.

"Because not even Gaara would do anything weird during the day." Looking out the window, he added, "By the way, that Shikamaru guy is your opponent during the finals. Don't you have to come up with a plan?"

Temari hmphed and said, "There's no way I'd lose to a guy like him."

"But we all messed up," said Kankurou. At the look Temari sent him, he said, "If we had taken the test sooner, we'd all be Chuunins by now."

Temari inwardly agreed, thinking back to right before they left Suna for the exams.

_**Flashback**_

"Nani?" said Temari in the Kazekage Tower. Due to a sandstorm, the team was meeting in the Kazekage's Tower. Kankurou and Temari were sitting and Gaara was leaning against the wall, his gourd missing from his back. All three were facing Baki.

"For this Chuunin Exam," said Baki, "Sunagakure will make you three take it. But it is not so you can become Chuunin. It is so you can crush Konoha."

"But why?! Aren't Suna and Konoha allies?"

Baki grinned wryly. "That alliance treaty is the problem. You Genin may not know the details… But after the treaty was signed, that dumbass of a daimyo for Kaze no Kuni forced our village to cut our armaments. Then to add insult to injury, he became a client for Konoha. Instead of giving us missions, like he should have been doing, he gave them to the Konoha-nin. And finally, when he cut our budget, he also reduced the number of Shinobi we had."

Glaring out the window, he added, "When the head is stupid, the arms and legs have problems." Turning to his Genin Team, he then added, "To maintain our power, we had to increase the quality of our individual shinobi. That's why shinobi like you were created…" he then said on an undertone '… Gaara."

Addressing them all, he said, "The security of Kaze no Kuni is at an all-time low right now. But that dumbass daimyo and his attendants didn't see that!!" he growled as he slammed his fist into the wall to emphasize his point, causing the picture of Shodai Kazekage to tilt. "Kazekage-sama saw the danger in our power decrease, so he determined that we had to cooperate with Otogakure and annihilate Konoha. This will bring dignity back to Suna, and we'll make that dumbass of a daimyo understand the crisis in Suna and Kaze no Kuni!!"

Slamming his hand into the wall again, the portrait of Shodai Kazekage fell, but Baki paid it no heed, since he knew he was going to pick it up later. "If we waste anymore time, then Suna will weaken and be no match for Konoha. Now is the time." Turning to the Suna Jinchuuriki, he said, "Gaara, this depends mission depends a lot on your performance."

The stoic Suna-nin uttered a blunt "Sure."

"As soon as the mission commences," continued Baki, "we will go to war with Konoha."

This was something new to Temari and Kankurou. "Another war?" said she. "After so many sacrifices, this treaty is going to be voided… and more people will die."

"It is all Kazekage-sama's will. We shinobi are tools of war. The alliance treaty threatened our existence This is a High A-Rank Mission. Proceed with great caution."

_**End Flashback**_

Kankurou glanced at the setting sun, yawned, and said "The day seems long when you're doing nothing."

vvvvvvvvvvv

In Sunagakure, Baki was meeting with the (Yondaime) Kazekage, who sat behind a netted shroud, with his bodyguards on either side of him. The only part of his face that was shown was his eyes, with a mask covering the rest of his face. Currently, he was confused with the information Baki gave him. "Could you please repeat that?"

"All but Kankurou have advanced to the main matches. Kankurou was defeated from a Kumo-nin who used some sort of ability like Sandaime-sama's."

This startled the Kazekage. "You mean, a Kumo-nin can use Satetsu (1)?"

"Iie. He used lightening." At Kazekage's, and everyone else confirmation, he elaborated. "Somehow, he was able to channel his body's bio-electricity through Kurasu, and to Kankurou himself. Kankurou didn't have a chance. In the meantime, Gaara and Temari have advanced into the Main Matches."

"But the agreement with Otogakure went smoothly?"

"Hai, Kazekage-sama." Withdrawing a scroll from his vest, he placed it on the ground, and let one of the two guards beside him take it to the Kazekage. "This is the scroll with the plans of Oto."

As the guard gave the scroll to the Kazekage, Kazekage asked, "Is there anything else?"

Baki had initially replied no, but at the Kazekage's urging, he asked if it would be possible to fake a training session to set up troops near the border. "Konoha-nin are not stupid. Their ANBU forces are on the move. If they discover our plan…"

"That's why we sent those three ahead," interrupted the Kazekage. "The restoration of Sunagakure's dignity… rests on the performance of the four of you. Now, go"

"Hai." And with a puff of smoke, Baki was gone.

vvvvvvvvvvv

As the sun rose to a new day, Naruto found himself waking in a hospital room. He rolled his eyes. The last time he was in here was when a drunken villager knocked him out with a glass bottle, and the ANBU proceeded to discipline the man. Needless to say, the hostility of the hospital staff proved to Naruto that hospitals were evil.

The first thing he saw the tiled ceiling. The second thing was a grinning Shikamaru, who said, "Hey. Finally awake? I heard you were awake for three days straight."

Naruto just grunted. "Three weeks of straight training will do that to ya." Standing up and stretching, he noticed a scroll on the ground, along with his clothes were gone, and all he had were white shorts and the black shirt with the red spiral. Shrugging it off, he picked up the scroll and started to open it.

"Some guy with black sunglasses left it for you," said Shikamaru.

Naruto knew immediately that it was Ebisu, and the scroll he had was the Doton Jutsu Ebisu owed him. Opening the scroll, he chuckled and said, "I can have fun with this."

Putting the scroll in his pants, he turned to Shikamaru and asked, "What'd I miss?"

vvvvvvvvvvvv

"Hokage-sama will see you now," said the secretary to Shino. Shino nodded and stood up. When he got into the room, the hatless Sarutobi (I got sick of calling him Sandaime, and opted to use his actual name) looked up from the mounds of paperwork he was doing to the young Aburame heir. "Konnichi wa, Shino-kun."

"Konnichi wa, Hokage-sama," said Shino with a bow. After he was seated, Sarutobi asked him what his business was.

"Before I get into that," began Shino, "I must ask, how did Yondaime-sama kill the Kyuubi?"

Sarutobi didn't flinch at all as he said, "With a dangerous kinjutsu."

Shino nodded and said, "And it was October 10th, was it not?"

"Hai."

Shino nodded once more, and then decided to stop beating around the bush. "Hokage-sama, forgive me, but I don't believe that for a second." At Sarutobi's confusion, he continued. "A few days ago, I was in the Shinobi Library researching a way to defeat my opponent, when I saw my opponent in the library. Granted, he didn't take anything, but he was reading a rather interesting book." Holding up a piece of paper and handing it to the stoic elder, he added, "I have written an interesting selection on here."

Sarutobi took the paper and read over it. It was describing the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi and the selection on Kyuubi. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his brow. "I knew one of the younger generation would figure it out eventually. I knew that it would be either you or Nara Shikamaru."

"So, it's true? Uzumaki Naruto is the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko?" asked Shino in a low voice.

"Hai."

"So what they told us in the Academy was false information."

"It was necessary," said Sarutobi. Anticipating Shino's question, he continued. "My predecessor, Yondaime Hokage, was at a loss. He knew that nothing that the village had could kill the Kyuubi outright. Not even the Hachimon (2) would be a match for the Kyuubi." He leaned back. "I wasn't lying when I said he used a kinjutsu. The jutsu he used invoked the power of the Shinigami."

Shino clearly did not expect this. The power of the death god in mortal hands. "So Yondaime-sama did die then?"

"Hai. But not before sealing the Kyuubi into the stomach of a newborn baby. With that, he saved the village, but at the cost of his life. And Naruto continues to save the village by containing the Kyuubi. So he is an actual hero, like Arashi."

"Then why does everyone not recognize him as such? I mean, I understand that Naruto saves the village even now, but why do the adults despise him?"

"So you recognize Naruto as Naruto?" At Shino's nod, he continued. "Arashi made a last request: That Naruto be recognized as a hero, for his sacrifice as a regular human ended once the Kyuubi was sealed to him. But grief causes us to ignore what was said. The civilians, the shinobi, all closed their minds to my successor's last request, and saw the babe as the Kyuubi incarnate. After numerous assassination attempts, I made a law that forbid anyone from mentioning the true events of the Kyuubi's assault, under pain of death."

"But that didn't stop them. I have seen that many of the parents have passed their hatred onto their children, and even though the younger generation do not see why Naruto is hated, they merely follow the example set by their parents."

"As for myself, I am unable to do anything. Many in the Council are convinced that he is the Kyuubi, and forbid me from taking care of him as I should have been. All I can do is provide him with housing and a steady salary."

Shino nodded. Prejudice was a terrible thing; it tore families apart, and was the root of conflict. "So why did Yondaime-sama use Naruto? I'm sure there were other babies to use, such as myself."

"Arashi was not going to deprive a family of one of their children," said Sarutobi. But with a twinkle in his eye, he added, "You've gotten this far on your own, you can fill in the rest."

Shino nodded and stood. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Hokage-sama," said he, bowing and leaving the room. On the way out, he stopped and looked back and Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama?" Seeing he had Sarutobi's attention, he added one last thing. "Beware Sabaku no Gaara and Ryunosuke Hachi. I fear that they are Jinchuuriki as well."

vvvvvvvvvvv

Naruto was walking with Shikamaru to Chouji's room. Apparently, Chouji had eaten too much barbeque the day before and had gotten indigestion. Shikamaru had given Ino a basket of fruit to take to Chouji, and where gonna go see him, when they saw Gaara slip into Lee's room. It was when they saw the sand that they moved.

Gaara stood before Lee. He glared down at the unconscious Genin, then clutched his head in agony. Shukaku was restless, and sent images through his head. His younger self, a picture of his mother Kareru, his uncle Yashumaru who betrayed him, and finally, the last day he ever cried.

Dropping the cork, he let his sand seep out. Only with Lee death would he be satisfied, only with the sand devouring him could he slake his lust. He was about to make the final move, the closing of his fist that would perform the Sabaku Kyuu, when he realized his body wasn't moving.

He got the reason when Naruto gave a solid blow to the cheek, which made Shikamaru move with him. The impact also caused Gaara's cheek to crack, revealing that he had the Suna no Yoroi.

"What the hell are you trying to pull!?" yelled Naruto, to which Gaara replied with a stony expression, "I tried to kill him."

"Why do you need to do that?" asked Shikamaru, narrowing his eyes. "You won the match, why do you need to kill him? Do you have a vendetta against Lee?"

The sand had stopped moving, so they were safe for the moment. "I wanted to kill him because I wanted him dead. If you bother me, I'll kill you too."

"Just try!" growled Naruto, only to be calmed by Shikamaru. Shikamaru then tried to bluff Gaara, saying that he and Naruto were as strong as he was, and that it was two-on-one.

Narrowing his eyes, Gaara replied, "I'll say this once more: If you cross me, I _will_ kill you." When Naruto said that he couldn't be killed, Shikamaru reprimanded him, saying that Gaara was as strong as a monster. Naruto grinned wryly and said, "I have a real monster inside me."

"**It's about damn time I got some say,**" growled the Kyuubi. 'Shut up. You had no say because you were sleeping.'

"A monster, eh?" said Gaara. "Then I am the same."

Shikamaru stiffened. This wasn't good, no matter what Naruto said. And he would have to look into what Naruto had said later.

"I did not grow up in a nice environment. I took the life of the one called my mother when I was born. To become the ultimate shinobi, my father used a Fuuin Jutsu to seal an incarnate of the sand into me."

"**Fucking dammit,**" growled the Kyuubi in Naruto's head. "**I knew there was something about him familiar. Gaki's got Shukaku sealed in him.**"

'Who's Shukaku?'

"**I'll tell you later.**"

Naruto went back to Gaara, who had said that the incarnate of sand, Suna no Shukaku was originally sealed in a teakettle. "It was said to be the living soul of an Elder Suna Priest."

Shikamaru was flabbergasted. Not only did Suna have a mentally unstable shinobi, said shinobi had a demon sealed in him at birth. "That's not what a parent should do. What a twisted way to show love."

"Love? Don't measure me by your values." Here, Gaara launched into a monologue. "Family? Let me tell you what kind of link I have with them. They are just piles of flesh linked by hatred, greed, and murderous intent."

"I took the life of my mother to become Sunagakure's masterpiece. And as the Kazekage's son, my father taught me Ninjutsu. I grew up spoiled, overprotected, and left alone. I thought that was love. Until the incident happened."

At the confused looks sent at him, he continued. "These past years… since I was six…" Here he grinned maniacally "…my father tried to have me assassinated on several occasions."

That shocked the two. "B-but you said that he spoiled you," said Shikamaru.

"So? A spirit that is strong eventually becomes feared. Since I was born from the usage of the technique, my mind has been unstable. Those idiots in my village finally realized that my emotions were unpredictable. To the Kazekage, I was the village's trump card… but I was a threat at the same time. After I turned six, I was classified as a threat to the village. A dangerous tool, but one to be handled with care all the same. I am only a relic of the past that they seek to be rid of."

'Just like me,' thought Naruto as he continued.

"Why do I exist? I've asked myself that question several times, with no answer. But I need the answer while I am still alive. Or else I'd consider myself dead."

"And this is what I concluded: I exist to kill everyone besides myself. After fearing assassination, I found relief within it. By killing my assassins, I was able to live. Where I fight, I might for myself. Where I live, I live for myself. As long as there are people for me to kill, my existence will remain. And as long as I feel that people make me feel that… all is right with the world."

'Kuso,' thought Naruto. 'I'm still a little weak from all that training, and Shikamaru wouldn't stand a chance against him.' He was cut from his thoughts by the sand that moved. It towered above Naruto and Shikamaru, startling the two of them.

"Come…" said Gaara, grinning maniacally. "Help me feel alive!!"

Gaara would have had the two Genin if not for Gai, who stepped into the room and told Gaara to cut it out. "The Main Matches are tomorrow. Don't get hasty, or you'll end up a patient here as well."

The sight of Gai caused another pang of pain in Gaara's head. While he clutched his head, he withdrew the sand in the room back into his gourd. Clutching his head, he stalked at of the room, but at the door, glared at the three of them and said, "I'm going to kill you guys. Just wait."

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Shortly thereafter, Naruto left the hospital. It was three days later, after a bout of training, that he decided to go to Ichiraku Ramen to eat. On the way, he conversed with his inner Kitsune on the question he nearly forgot. 'Hey, Kitsune. Who's Shukaku?'

"**Another Bijuu**."

Furrowing his brow, Naruto asked, 'There're more of you?'

"**Not more Kyuubi per se, but eight more Bijuu. Originally, there were nine of us. I was strongest one, and Shukaku was the weakest.**"

'What is he?'

"**Ichibi no Tanuki: Suna no Shukaku is his official title. He's a Wind Element, and a bit of a drunk. Last time I saw him, he managed to get himself hit with a Berserker Seal and now can't keep his mind on anything except the sight and taste of blood. And from the way it looks, that Gaara kid's been joined to Shukaku.**"

Naruto was about to ask more when he heard a familiar voice call out "Naruto-kun!!" Turning to the sound of the voice, he was granted with the sight of his unofficial lover. "Hinata-chan!!" said he as he embraced the Hyuuga heiress. She basically wore the same thing she always did.

Although she was comfortable in the fact that the two of them were together, she still went red around him. Within a short amount of time, the two lovebirds were at the designated eatery. Naruto had ordered Miso Ramen while Hinata ordered Shrimp Ramen. "So what have you been up to, Hinata-chan?"

"My f-father was disappointed that I l-lost to N-Neji-nii-san. He wants me to be the h-heiress that he knows that I'm s-supposed to be. A t-true w-warrior of the H-Hyuuga Clan."

Naruto shook his head. "He's too uptight. If you ask me, you'd be better off being a healer. You've got the know-how for it; the healing salve was proof of that. And with your eyes, I bet you could be one of the best Medic-nin around."

Hinata blushed. "B-but he wants me to be a fighter. I cannot even defeat my sister H-Hanabi."

Naruto squinted and said, "Just 'cause you're not a outright fighter doesn't mean you're not strong. I mean, you could kill someone with Medic-nin techniques. Oh!" He stood up. "Check this out." Biting his thumb, he went through a familiar set of seals, then slammed his hand into the ground and said, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

After the cloud of smoke that came up cleared, Gamakichi appeared before the two. "Yo," said he, giving off a V for Peace.

"This is Gamakichi," said Naruto. "He's the son of the Toad Boss." Picking up said toad, he then said, "Say hi, Gamakichi."

"I already did," said Gamakichi. "And is she your… this?" asked the toad, holding up his pinky.

Hinata blushed, but Naruto said, "Yep! Yep! Hinata-chan's my girl!!" This turned her red even more. 'I-I'm N-Naruto-kun's girl?' Ready to faint, she was caught by an aware Naruto, who sat her down. "Y-You can Summon?"

"Hai. I had a run-in with an open pervert who called himself Jiraiya."

This gave Hinata a heart-attack. "Ji-Jiraiya-sama? The Gama-Sennin?"

"Yeah," said Gamakichi, "But me and nii-chan call him Ero-Sennin."

Hinata giggled, but soon, the three were joined by a surly Rynosuke Hachi. "Lousy red-haired sonuvabitch… Gimme two bowls of Beef Ramen, sir." Occasionally, Hachi would brush sand off himself, raising Naruto's eyebrows. 'Did he have a run-in with Gaara?'

After receiving his ramen, Hachi looked over and grunted, "How do you do? Didn't see you there." He raised a tattooed eyebrow at the toad perched on Naruto's head. "Why is there a frog on your head?"

"I'm here 'cause nii-chan owes me a cookie," said Gamakichi. After grumbling, Naruto gave him the cookie, and Gamakichi took it, then said, "Sayonara, nii-chan, nee-chan!!" and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hachi snorted. "Good to know not all Konoha-nin are arrogant."

"Whaddya mean?" asked Naruto, sitting next to Hinata, and vaguely feeling her wrap her arm around him.

"If my studies, I have discovered that arrogance is the downfall of all people. That is why I dislike those called 'Genius'. I have a philosophy: The strong live and the weak die. I define the strong as those willing to give it their all for a cause, and the weak as the egotistical arrogant bastards who think that they're so important that all others are below them."

Naruto chuckled. "Sounds like Sasuke-teme and Hinata-chan's cousin. But why are you interested in me?"

Hachi, having finished his two bowls, leaned back. "I see you as one of the strong. I believe that there it a great power within everyone. But if you don't harness the power within you, then you'll never find your true destiny."

Naruto stood up, as did Hinata. "I don't believe in destiny. I just think that once the opportunity arises, take it before it's gone. Because of Neji-teme," growled Naruto, clenching his fist, "I almost lost one of my precious people."

Hinata, touched by his proclamation, hugged her unofficial lover. 'N-Naruto-kun…'

Hachi chuckled. "Well, as far as I know, we all have a great destiny in store for us all. When it chooses to reveal itself is entirely by chance, but we'll know." Standing, he left the bill on the counter, and turned to Naruto. "I hope to battle you, Uzumaki. To determine my destiny."

vvvvvvvvvvv

Inuzuka Kiba had been walking with Akamaru from his house to the Hyuuga Compound, looking to spend a little quality time with Hinata. However, when he got there, the guards had told him that Hinata had left a few hours ago, and they didn't know where she had gone.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," said Kiba, as he left the compound. He had taken off his parka, revealing the black-netted shirt he wore beneath. Akamaru yipped something at him, and he replied "I don't know, boy. As far as I know…" He trailed off at the sight before him.

Hinata was walking arm-in-arm with Naruto. The girl that he had claimed as his, the girl he wanted to bear his pups, was with the one he was sworn to defeat, and smelled of fox.

He followed them at a distance, despite Akamaru's protests. He was determined to make Uzumaki Naruto learn his place, and that a dead-last like him was undeserving of a goddess like Hinata. When they came to the training grounds, he was trembling with rage, but he wasn't going to reveal himself just yet.

It was upon seeing them kiss once more that he finally lost it. Jealous or not, he saw Hinata as his, and he was willing to kill Naruto for her. He burst from his cover and yelled, "GET YOUR HANDS AND YOUR MOUTH OFF HER!!"

Hinata jumped at Kiba's voice, and blushed badly. At one glance, one would say that she had a bad fever. Naruto, on the other hand, was rather peeved that Kiba had interrupted an intimate moment between him and the girl whom he wanted to bear kits with. "Whaddya want, Kiba?"

Kiba growled and pointed a clawed finger at Naruto. Apparently, he'd activated his Shikakyu no Jutsu to track the two Genin. "I want you to stay the hell away from my girl!"

Hinata was at a loss. She knew Kiba might have harbored feelings for her, but her heart belonged to Naruto-kun. At the thought of her body belonging to him as well, she went even redder. Such naughty thoughts through her head!!

Naruto snorted and pulled her closer to him. "Sorry dog-boy, but Hinata-chan likes me. And I'm _not_ giving her up to the likes of you." Naruto, at this point, was rather annoyed with Kiba's antics. Tracking them like animals was one thing, but trying to separate them was sending him over the edge. "Didn't you learn your lesson from last time?"

Kiba growled and put himself in a stance. "Let's have a rematch then. Right here, right now. Winner take all."

Naruto shrugged, and stood there. "I told you, Hinata-chan isn't some trophy. But I accept your challenge." With Hinata off at the side, he had nothing to worry about.

The two leapt at each other like tigers. They threw punches and kicks at each other, with Akamaru and Hinata watching from the sidelines. It went from Naruto having Kiba in a headlock, to Kiba grasping both of Naruto arms behind his back with his left foot on his back, to Naruto grasping Kiba's neck with his ankles.

Eventually though, the two decided to break out their Ninjutsu. "Ninpou: Gatsuuga!!" roared Kiba as he spun like a twister towards the blonde. Confused at Naruto's grin, he paid it no heed. He impacted on Naruto, and was surprised to see the blonde disappear into smoke. 'Kuso!!' he thought. 'A Kage Bunshin!?' Putting an end to the Gatsuuga, he stopped and glanced around him. No Naruto, only a confused-looking Hinata, Akamaru, a hole…

Instantly, Kiba felt something grab his ankles. Before he had a chance to yell, he was dragged into the earth, leaving only his head above ground. Struggling to get free, he saw Naruto land in front of him after jumping out of the ground. "What the hell did you do, you bastard!?" yelled Kiba, incensed at being bested by the dead-last again.

Naruto grinned and said, "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu. You've been pulled into the ground. It is one of the two new Doton Jutsu I spent the last three days trying to do and perfect." Walking away from Kiba, he held out his hand to Hinata, who took it. "See ya later, Ki-bitch."

Kiba was growling his anger. He was still weak! Naruto had gotten stronger, and this time, he wasn't able to hurt him like before. He was still trying to get out when Akamaru came over and started digging to help his master. "Thanks, Akamaru."

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Naruto was chuckling and shaking his head as he and Hinata walked away. The sun was nearly setting, and the finals were the next day. That day, he would have to fight Neji.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hai, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata said nothing, but raised herself against him. He knew what she was getting at, and leaned down. The two were just about the same height, with Naruto being an inch taller. He caught her mouth with a hungry kiss, and the two went at it for a about a minute before ceasing for lack of air.

"Hinata-chan, do you think you can help me pick out an outfit for tomorrow?"

Blushing, she nodded her assent. With that, Naruto walked her home, like a true gentleman should.

Unknown to the two, they were being watched by a pair of malevolent yellow eyes. The slitted yellow eyes glared down at the two, then the body they were attached to turned away, with the promise of agony.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

(1) Satetsu – Iron Sand. A special ability used by Sandaime Kazekage similar to Gaara's control over sand, but the Iron Sand is magnetized sand.

(2) Hachimon – Eight Gates. The gates that Rock Lee, Maito Gai, and Kakashi (to an extent) can use.

_Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: _The Chuunin Exam Finals begin, with Naruto fighting Neji in the first match. But what the hell is going on!? Shino forfeits!? WTF!? And Shikamaru is forced to fight next? And where are Sasuke and Gaara? All your questions will be answered, on the next _Wrath of the Dragon: The Chuunin Exam Finals! Mendokuse!!

And that's a wrap for now! Keep those reviews coming people (please). Any comments and/or questions that need answering will be answered. And to quote General Douglas MacArthur: "I shall return." But for now, I'm outta here!

((Rai Shunshin no Jutsu))


	6. The Chuunin Exam Finals! Mendokuse!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Once again, thanks for the reviews. However, I tend to get writer's block from no reviews, and updates may be random. For this one, I'll need at least 10 reviews to put up the chapter after this one.

On another note, I'm gonna have to rephrase the preview for this chapter; some stuff's not going to come until later.

On a final note, there will be an extreme heavy petting scene between Naruto and Hinata later on. I've decided to dub it a pseudo-lemon; an actual lemon has the act of penetration, and a lime is a past lemon. There is no act of penetration that I will put out… yet. This is mainly due to the admin., and their need to downplay all lemons. But hey, M-Rated stuff will have the lemon in it at least once.

Just letting you all know, since a lemon's bound to happen later.

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**_Blah_**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 6: The Chuunin Exams Finals! Mendokuse!!

As the sounds of the night echoed through Konoha, Naruto and Hinata stood before the massive arena. The two had spent the half the day training, and the other half going through the village. Naruto had henged into a black-haired, masked version of himself, without the orange jumpsuit of course, and posed as a Genin-in-training to get a new outfit.

Said outfit was back at his apartment. He and Hinata had decided to go stay out for a little, but now, she had to go home, before her father sent out Hyuuga members to find her. And he knew that if they were found together, he was a dead man. After embracing and kissing each other good night, he was left alone in front of the arena.

"Tomorrow, huh?" he said to no one.

Five minutes later found him in Ichiraku. "I haven't seen you for a while," said Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku.

"I was in the hospital," said Naruto, and startled Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. "But I'm fine now."

Teuchi nodded, and then set a bowl for Ayame to retrieve, who in turn set it before Naruto. It was filled to the brim with ramen and vegetables, and Naruto could've sworn that he saw part of a lobster. "What's this for?" he asked.

"Just eat up," said Teuchi. "The main matches are tomorrow, right? You'll need all of your strength."

Naruto was silent, and then he grinned a little. "All right then. Itadakimasu!"

vvvvvvvvvvv

Elsewhere, Shikamaru found himself hunting down his father, because his mother told him to. "Mendokuse," groaned Shikamaru. "Whose business is it if pops wants to stay out with his friends?"

He found his dad at a restaurant with his friends: Yamanaka Inoichi, Ino's father and a Jounin; and Akamichi Chouza, Chouji's father, and every bit as large as Chouji was. Chouza had yelled out to Shikamaru, "We've got ourselves a strong ally… Come over and eat something!"

Nara Shikato, an older version of Shikamaru with a goatee, two scars (one on his chin and the other above his right eyebrow), and a Jounin vest, glanced at the sight of his son. "Shikamaru…?"

"Hey pops. Let's go home already…"

"What'd you say? Don't tell me what to do. Your supposed to have fun at a festival. Since the old times… the main matches are like festivals."

"I have to participate in those main matches tomorrow," groaned Shikamaru. "I don't wanna be home alone with your nagging wife…" He saw the look of slow shock on his father's face, and groaned. "Mendokuse."

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Elsewhere, other waited in anticipation. Temari was cleaning her fan, and Kankurou was fixing Karasu, despite the fact that he wasn't competing.

Ryunosuke Hachi glared out from his vantage point in the hotel, his teammates and sensei asleep. "Tomorrow is a full moon… The day of Destiny approaches… Will you be ready for it… Konohagakure no Sato?"

Naruto was lying in bed, recanting on the previous hours before. The villagers weren't hostile to him, for once, and he was walking. He heard two guys talking to each other about the first match, and shook his head. They really wanted him to lose, but it didn't surprise him.

He glanced at his clock. 2:40 AM. He had to sleep so he wouldn't be exhausted tomorrow. He turned onto his side, and closed his eyes.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

_She opened her eyes, and saw that she was in front of the Hokage tower. Or what was left of it. The Hokage Tower was in ruins. And beyond that, the Hokage Monument was smashed, the faces gone or pulverized beyond recognition._

_Sakura then glanced around herself. The sky was gray, like a thunderstorm was approaching. The buildings of her village were burnt and half-destroyed. And there were bodies lying everywhere._

_She gasped. Over to the side was Kakashi, his lower half crushed beneath the remains of a building. Ino was to her right, her dress torn to shreds, the bandages shredded, and a katana embedded in her heart. Sakura shook with terror. Her friend, her rival for Sasuke-kun, had been _raped_ before she was killed._

_She looked elsewhere, only to meet scenes nearly as gruesome. Naruto had Hinata's hand in his as the two lay there, kunai embedded in the both of them. Shino was lying against a wall with kunai and a katana embedded in his body, and his bugs were lying all around him._

_When she saw Sasuke, she couldn't hold in her tears. Uchiha Sasuke had been crucified by ANBU katana, and his stomach had been cut open, causing his stomach and intestines to fall out. Said organs were currently hanging out of his body._

"_They're dead," said a voice. Sakura turned around to see Hachi staring at her, his eyes glazed over. "It came for them, and they all paid for their sins."_

_Tears streaming from her eyes, she asked, "Hachi-san, what are you talking about?"_

_Before she could move, Hachi was swallowed up by darkness. She saw the darkness wrap around him, then swallow him. The darkness rose into the sky, until it towered over the Hokage Tower. She tried to move, but she couldn't._

_She saw it move toward her, and she tried again to escape, but she was rendered immobile by the darkness. The darkness had her in a giant black hand, and lifted her up. She screamed. She screamed for all she was worth. She screamed as she saw eyes, huge golden eyes with slitted pupils. She screamed as the jaws of the darkness and death closed around her, ending her life on Earth._

_**End Dreamscape**_

Sakura shot up in her bed, gasping for breath. She was trembling, the dream that he had was vivid, perhaps too vivid. The death all around her, the creature of darkness, the destroyed village… She held herself. It was all just a nightmare, a horrible nightmare…

"Sakura!!" came a voice. "It's time to get up! The Finals are today!!"

"Hai, Okaa-san!!" yelled Sakura, as she got out of bed. She had just worn a tank top and panties to sleep, and she glanced at herself in the mirror. She groaned, even Hinata had bigger breasts than she did. And Sakura herself was a B-Cup at most…

After gazing at her feminine form, she sighed sadly. 'Sasuke-kun… What would it take for you to notice me?'

Casting her small depression aside, she got dressed in her red outfit with the black shorts, and left her room.

vvvvvvvvvvv

The gates to Konoha were open, with various shinobi opening a path for them. Daimyos, hell, the Kazekage came.

Sarutobi watched from a building, with the senbon-chewing Jounin Shiranui Genma at his right, and Raido at his left. "It's about to begin…" he muttered.

Whether he meant the Exam or the Fate of Konoha would be unknown, for he could have meant both.

vvvvvvvvvvv

Hinata stood before a giant post, looking at the handprint she had just embedded into the wood. She was determined to not let her father scare her, or her little sister Hanabi prove to be the stronger. Hinata wore her regular black pants, but instead of her jacket, wore a blue Chinese shirt that nearly formed to her body. Sure, it showed off her figure a little, but she wanted her father to see her as the heiress he wanted.

She was cut from her thoughts by a pair of arms that wrapped around her waist. She squeaked at Naruto trying to sound husky: "Konnichi wa… Hinata-hime." Blushing, she turned around to see her boyfriend in his new outfit.

He wore a pair of pants similar to the ones on his orange jumpsuit (except these were black), and a black netted shirt, with a dark green vest that a red spiral over his stomach. Over that, he wore a black trenchcoat like the one Morino Ibiki wore, and fingerless gloves like Kakashi's. All-in-all, he gave off the appearance that he was serious about being a shinobi.

"Like the new look, Hinata-chan?" he asked, spinning like a fashion model.

Hinata nodded, then leaned against him. Sensing that she was troubled, he popped the question. "Something wrong, Hinata-chan?"

"N-Neji-nii-san will try to kill you, Naruto-kun. H-He sees himself as the emissary of f-fate." Burying her face into the spot where his neck met his shoulder, he could feel tears making their way down. "I don't want you to die, Naruto-kun."

Naruto was awestruck. She genuinely cared about his well-being. Unlike certain sensei's that shall remain nameless. Wrapping his arms around her, he whispered in her ear, "Maa, Hinata-chan. I'm gonna beat his ass into the dirt, and prove that there is no fate, but the fate that we make for ourselves."

Hinata looked up at him, her face gleaming with her heavenly smile and remnants of her tears. "Naruto-kun… I know that you can beat him… and show everyone that not even a genius is superior to everyone."

Naruto silenced her with another kiss, but this one was one that they really got into. She fell into it, and as chaste as she was, she allowed his hands to travel from her waist to her shapely posterior. Hinata let out a little squeak when Naruto squeezed it, and whispered, "Ecchi-kun…"

"But I'm _your_ Ecchi-kun," he whispered against her lips, as he slipped his hand into her pants, then her panties. Hinata stiffened, and her body acted of its own accord. She moaned softly, urging Naruto to continue his ministrations.

Naruto was amazed. He didn't know that Hinata was such a… a… Well, suffice to say, he thought, 'Hinata-chan's like Yuki-chan from Volume 1.' He gently inserted a finger into her depths, and she stiffened and gasped. 'Ne, Hinata-chan… such a cute little Yuki-chan…'

Hinata was adoring the way her lover was touching her. Even though she knew that her father would probably go homicidal at what his eldest daughter was doing with the village pariah, she frankly didn't give a damn. She let out another gasp and moan at the feeling of another finger inside her, and eagerly awaited the day where she would give herself to him completely.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

(A/N) Hehe, I bet y'all hate me for ending it here, but I gotta. If I went any further, I'd get booted off the site, and I don't wanna get booted off. Let me know in the reviews if you want me to expand on it or not.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Hinata held her arms around Naruto's waist as they bounded over the rooftops. After their heavy petting session, Naruto had placed a strong henge over his outfit, mainly because he didn't want the villagers rioting about his new look. So he now looked like he did back during the first two parts of the exam, although he put his trenchcoat in a storage scroll for safe-keeping. And now the two were riding the toad Gama.

Gama landed in front of the arena, and Naruto hopped off and helped Hinata off. "Arigatou, Gama-san," said Hinata, bowing respectfully. Naruto did the same, and Gama gave off a peace sign, then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto turned to Hinata. "I guess… this is where we part."

Hinata grasped his hands in hers. "Apart, but never parted."

"Friends forever, lovers for life," he whispered, then caught her in one final kiss.

They separated too soon for each other, and parted, Hinata walking towards the stands, while Naruto went towards the arena.

When Naruto arrived in the arena, he saw the Jounin Shiranui Genma, and the other Genin. Hachi, Shikamaru, Shino, Temari, Neji…

"Wait… Where's Sasuke? And Gaara?" Even as he said that, Temari was anxiously looking around for her younger brother.

Shikamaru glanced around. "That's something I've been trying to figure out. And where that guy Kinuta Dosu is as well."

"Ora, stop talking," said Genma. "Look to the stands. You guys are the main players for the upcoming tournament."

vvvvvvvvvvv

"Sasuke is still missing?" asked Sarutobi.

"Several ANBU teams are searching for him…" said Raido. "… But he's nowhere to be found. He may have already fallen to Orochimaru."

'If that's the case… then it'll be next to impossible to find him,' thought Sarutobi. "I understand," he murmured, then perked up at the sight of the approaching Kazekage, flanked by two tunic-wrapped guards.

"Welcome, Kazekage-dono. I trust that you are tired from your long trip?"

"Not at all," replied the Kazekage. "Although, when you're young… visiting another village might be hard on you… Hokage-sama. Perhaps you should choose a successor…?"

Sarutobi laughed. "Don't treat me like an old man now. I've considered doing this job for another five years." At length, he made his way to the edge and made his proclamation.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming to the Final Exam of the Chuunin Selection Exams in Konohagakure. We will now begin the matches with the eight that have passed the preliminaries. Please enjoy the matches."

"It would seem that of the eight, two are missing," said the Kazekage. 'Gaara, what the flying fuck are you doing?'

vvvvvvvvvv

"Alright, there are some things I need to tell you before the matches," said Genma, facing the six Genin. Taking out the bracket paper from a month before, he showed the standings. It was basically the same, except Dosu had been eliminated from the bracket, leaving Shikamaru to fight Temari. "Check to see you're going against again."

"Hey, Sasuke hasn't arrived yet," said Naruto. "What's gonna happen then?"

"If he isn't here by the time his match starts, he will lose by default," said Genma. "The same goes with that Gaara kid."

Temari glanced over to the arena entrance. "Gaara… where are you? The plan's no good without you."

In the stands, Baki glared down at the spot that Gaara should have been at. 'Don't tell me… I specifically told him not to do anything that would stand out. Is he out there now, killing Uchiha Sasuke?'

Down below, Genma caught the Genins' attention. "Listen up. The same rules that applied for the Preliminaries apply here, even though the landscape is different. The match will end when someone gives up; either the ghost, or the fight. But if I decide that the match should stop, then it will stop. Any arguments will be dealt with severely. Got it?"

After that, he called forth Naruto and Neji, and said "The rest of you need to go back to the waiting room."

As the Genin made their way up the stairs in the side of the arena, Naruto caught Hachi sending Temari a leer, and narrowed his eyes. 'He's up to something…'

vvvvvvvvvv

"Hey, hey, down here Hinata!" came Kiba's voice to Hinata's ears. Even she knew better, she still decided to sit with, since he was her teammate.

Kiba was beside himself. Instead of his hooded parka, today he wore a loose black hoodie that had Akamaru in it, exposing his entire head to the air. And now, Hinata was with him. With him! He was sure that as soon as Naruto lost… IF he lost… that Hinata would be too distraught and look him for affection. 'Now I play the waiting game,' he thought.

'Naruto-kun…'

Elsewhere, Sakura was still depressed by the missing Sasuke, but Ino beside her said, "Hey, Sakura. I understand that you're still worried about Sasuke-kun, but you should cheer Naruto on a bit."

After a moment, Sakura jovially agreed, only to hear Ino's "But then again, there's no way he can beat Neji."

Elsewhere, the two Chuunin from the beginning of the Exam, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, conferred amongst themselves that even though Naruto managed to get through the exam, he made it through on luck, and his luck was about to run out since he had Neji as an opponent.

They were unaware of Hinata next to them, but Kotetsu could have distinctly heard Kiba mutter, "I said that exact same thing, but I got my ass kicked, gentlemen." But when Akamaru started whining a little, Kiba took notice of the cat-masked ANBU in the back that caught Akamaru's attention. 'Why are the ANBU here? Did something happen?'

vvvvvvvvvv

Neji and Naruto stood before each other. Neji looked as haughty as ever, while Naruto looked determined. "You look like you want to say something," said Neji. All Naruto did was hold out his fist and say, "I told you before… I promise you, revenge. And I will defeat you."

Neji activated his Byakugan, and stared at Naruto. 'His eyes tell me that he has complete confidence… He shows no hesitance.' Shifting into his Jyuuken fighting stance, he grinned. "I will relish the despair on your face when I crush you."

"You talk too much," said Naruto, and a wind blew through the arena. "Let's start this."

With that, Genma said, "Okay then… first match of the Chuunin Exam Finals… Begin!!"

vvvvvvvvvv

Up in the stands, Hyuuga Hiashi, and Hyuuga Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister, watched the match with anticipation. "Watch closely, Hanabi. Neji is perhaps the strongest Hyuuga in a century. Not even your sister can compare to him."

Hanabi was awestruck. "Even more than Nee-san?"

"Yes. Even more than you most likely."

Hanabi turned her attention back to the fighters in the arena. Truth be told, she didn't like fighting her elder sister, and she knew her father was pushing Hinata too hard over the death of his wife.

Kiba watched the two as well, thinking, 'There's no way your prankster abilities will help you out of this.'

vvvvvvvvvv

Neji saw a bit of chakra surround Naruto, but shook it off as an abnormality. The two were at a standoff, at least until Naruto broke the standoff. He rushed Neji, guessing that Neji had more than likely increased his strength ten-fold since he last saw him.

He was proven right when Neji blocked all the blows he sent him, then he saw Neji preparing to strike with his index and middle fingers. So he jumped back. He heard Sakura yell, "Smart move, Naruto!!" and said to Neji "I was just gauging your strength. Now the fight really starts!" With that, he performed his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

That caught nearly everyone by surprise. "That's a Jounin level technique," said Izumo, to which Kotetsu responded, "He's an interesting guy. Now I'm not sure who's gonna win."

Neji had not really paid attention when Naruto last used this move, but now he did. 'It looks like he made solid clones, not illusions, and they each have their own Chakra Coils and Tenketsu. But…' he grinned, preparing to strike, "there's only one real Uzumaki."

When the clones rushed him, he was content to dodging, until he let them think that they landed a hit on him. He then took out two clones with a double heel drop, then destroyed the other two when they tried to get him with kunai. He shoved them both forward, then when they turned around to strike, he nailed them both with a chest blow.

That effectively startled the other Genin, but Tenten smirked and said that Naruto was doomed to fail from the start.

Neji turned to the real Naruto, and said, "Become Hokage, huh? Only a select few are chosen to be Hokage. And you aren't one of them. My eyes show me that our talent is determined at birth… and that everything else is predetermined at birth as well."

"Why do you always label crap like that?" yelled Naruto. "Destiny, Fate, Predetermination… all that stuff is wrong!"

"Then why do you say that anyone can become Hokage? Look at reality. Only those who are born with that fate become Hokage. It's not something you can become just because you want it. It's already determined by fate. People are different. They can only follow the straight-forward flow of life. But everyone shares the same fate… Death."

Naruto clenched his hand. "So-So what!? I'm one that doesn't give up easily!" With that, he did Kage Bunshin again, and nineteen Naruto's flickered into existence. Approximately ten Naruto's rushed Neji, only to meet the same fate as the earlier four. Undaunted, the remaining ten took out two kunai each and threw them at the Hyuuga genius.

Neji was prepared for that, but he wasn't prepared for what came next: "Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!" The twenty thrown kunai turned into sixty, imitating a wall of sharpened steel.

Kiba blanched. "Good god, I didn't see that coming!" Beside him, Kotetsu said, "If Hyuuga Neji doesn't do something, he could be severely injured."

Neji knew that he could dodge a few, but not the whole array of them. "Damn you," he growled, as he expelled chakra from his tenketsu and began to spin.

Hiashi was caught by surprise by the dome of chakra that appeared. 'That's the…!!'

"HAKKESHOU KAITEN!!" shouted Neji as the dome of chakra deflected the kunai in all directions, causing the Naruto's to scatter, but three got hit and disappeared into smoke, reducing the number to eight. The real Naruto was livid. "That's supposed to be a Hyuuga Main-only technique!!"

Hiashi was beside himself with anger. "Talent like that is wasted on the Branch Family." At Hanabi's question, he continued, his eyes on Neji. "The Kaiten is a move that is only passed down to Hyuuga successors… In other words, that is a Hyuuga Main technique, as Uzumaki said. But he managed to reproduce the move himself?"

"Damn it," growled Naruto, as he and the clones rushed him once more, but once again, their efforts were futile. Neji destroyed the seven clones and knocked Naruto backwards. Then he slid into an unknown stance, but one that Hinata and Hiashi recognized.

"You are in the range of my divination," said Neji with finality. "Hakkeshou Rokujuuyonshou." With that, he rushed the now standing Naruto. "Hakke!!" With each blow he landed on Naruto, he shouted in correspondence "Nishou (Two Strikes)!! Yonshou (Four Strikes)!! Hachishou (Eight Strikes)!! Juurokushou (Sixteen Strikes)!! Sanjuunishou (Thirty-two Strikes)!!" until "Rokujuuyonshou (Sixty-four Strikes)!!" The ending blows cast Naruto backwards, and he hit the ground hard.

"Naruto-kun!" said Hinata, and Kiba drew her into a hug, saying not to look. At the moment, she was too distressed to think straight, so she clutched Kiba. Kiba growled, she smelled like Naruto, but that was gonna change soon.

'What incredible talent,' thought Hiashi. 'To think that a member of the Branch Family inherited the Byakugan so strongly, even though they cannot succeed the clan.' Closing his eyes, he thought, 'Hizashi, perhaps it would have been better if you had succeeded the Hyuuga Clan.'

Standing up slowly, Naruto was racked with pain. "You… sonuvabitch… What'd you do to me?"

"I've sealed all 64 of your tenketsu. You can no longer do anything to fight." Grinning, he continued to berate Naruto for his weakness. "Mortifying, isn't it? Unable to fight for your so-called dream, because your better has cut you off from it."

"I'm…" began Naruto, "… gonna kick your ass. I don't… know… what happened between clans, but… that doesn't give… you the excuse to… try to kill Hinata-chan!"

Neji glowered at Naruto. "Fine. Since you care so much, I'll tell you about the Hyuuga legacy of hatred." With that, he took off his headband, revealing a green right-side up swastika in between two green lines. "This detestable seal was carved into me by that despicable Juuin Fuuin Jutsu of the Main Family."

Neji then told Naruto of when Hinata had turned three, that Neji was branded by the Caged Bird Seal, as it is affectionately known. He said that it was tradition; Hinata's father and his father, Hyuuga Hiashi and Hizashi respectively, were twin brothers. But since Hiashi was born first, he became a Main Family member, while Hizashi became a Branch member.

Incidentally, the Caged Bird Seal was a control element. The Branch Family outnumbered the Main Family three to one, and the Main Family used the Caged Bird Seal to control the Branch Family, and to conceal the secrets of the Byakugan. Then the incident happened. Neji then said that his father was killed by the Main Family.

Apparently, an unknown perpetrator stole into the Hyuuga Compound in the dark of night, and abducted Hinata. He didn't get far though. Hiashi caught up to him, and Jyuuken-ed the would-be kidnapper through the heart, killing him instantly. When the mask of the man was removed, it turned out to be the envoy of the Raikage (1).

Hachi, over with the other fighters, sneered. "And they make _us_ sound like the bad guys. At least we don't treat our own flesh and blood like slaves."

"It was apparent that Kumo was after the secrets of the Byakugan," went Neji. "But all Kumo got was a dead shinobi. So they made an unfair demand: Give up a Hyuuga Clan member, or face destruction. They wanted a Hyuuga Clan Main member; they wanted Hiashi-sama. And Konoha agreed."

It took Naruto a few moments to process what Neji said. Then he realized what had probably happened. "The… the Hyuuga Clan… gave up your father… instead, since Hinata-chan's dad… and your dad were twins, and… no one would be… able to tell… them apart."

Neji had to hand it to Naruto, he was smarter than he looked. "Yes, thanks to the murder of my father, war was averted! Death is the only way to escape the detestable Juuin Fuuin. The two, Hiashi-sama and Hizashi-tou-sama, their fates were determined by the order of their birth. And you…" he pointed at Naruto. "Your fate was sealed when I became your opponent. You cannot hope to stand against me, and you have no idea what it's like to have a seal you'll never be rid of."

Naruto decided to ignore the last part of Neji's response and said "You… don't know… that for sure!" growled Naruto. He was still standing, to Neji amazement. Neji then tied his headband back on and listened to Naruto ramble about how Neji was wrong about fate. Reactivating his Byakugan, he moved.

Incidentally, Kiba thought it was his fate to win the heart of the fair Hinata over the jester Naruto, so while rubbing her back, he let one of his hands drop lower than they were supposed to. Hinata, in response, whispered in his ear, "T-touch me there, and I w-will make sure you d-don't have k-kids." Kiba wasn't about to push his luck, because he knew that as shy as his teammate was, she was pretty strong when motivated. So he let go of Hinata and turned back to the arena, only to wince at the sight before him.

Neji had hit Naruto with a palm strike, tossing him into the air, but… Naruto was grinning. Instantly, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

That caught everyone off guard. Tenten was shocked to see that Neji had actually failed to hit his actual target, the Kazekage was shocked to see that he had totally missed the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Genma was shocked because he knew that a Kage Bunshin shouldn't have lasted that long with all those hits, Hiashi was shocked because he knew that Neji should have been able to tell the difference between a real and a fake Naruto, and Neji was shocked to see that he missed. He immediately looked around for his quarry.

Then he heard the rumbling.

Hyuuga Neji, the former Rookie of the Year, the Genius of the Hyuuga Clan in over a century, made a mistake. He looked down, just in time to see a pair of hands grab his ankles, and pull him underground. At this point, only his head remained above ground, and Naruto leapt out of the ground to confirm it.

Kiba was trying to contain himself from grimacing. Naruto had used that exact same technique on him two days ago. But Hinata was beaming with joy at the sight of her love's near perfect condition.

Sarutobi chuckled. 'I guess it's true. He is Konoha's Number One surprising Ninja.'

Kotetsu grinned. "Astounding. I guess he discovered the trick about Kage Bunshin. He forced his opponent to reveal his moves, and in the process switched places with a clone and performed a Doton Jutsu."

Izumo nodded. "Looks like we found one possible applicant for Chuunin."

Naruto knelt down before Neji and, touching Neji's Hitai-ate with his index finger, said, "You lose."

Genma grinned a little, and said, "Shousa, Uzumaki Naruto." The crowd cheered for the first winner of the Chuunin Exam Finals. Naruto basked in their praise for a moment, and then did the unlikeliest thing: He dug Neji out of the hole.

Neji was confused. "Why did you help me?"

"Because you're wrong. Destiny doesn't say what you do, you do. And," here he whispered, "I know what it's exactly like to have a seal you can't be rid of."

vvvvvvvvvvv

When Naruto and Neji left the arena, the crowd was still cheering. The two went to the Medic Room as a precaution. When Neji sat on the bed, Naruto took that as his time to leave. "Uzumaki."

At Neji's voice, Naruto turned slightly. "What do you mean you have a seal you can't be rid of?"

Naruto grinned a little and said while leaving, "Shiki Fuuin." As he walked out the door, he passed Hyuuga Hiashi. Then two looked at each for a moment, but that was all of the acknowledgement he needed. Hiashi nodded, and Naruto bowed a little, and left. Sure, he didn't like the guy, but he had to show him respect, for Hinata-chan's sake.

Neji watched as Hiashi came in, and said, "Hiashi–sama, what business do you have here?"

Hiashi had a morose look on his face, and said, "I came to tell you about that day."

Neji remembered that day all too well. The day his father was stolen from him. So he said, "What is there to say? My father was killed so you could live!"

Hiashi withdrew a scroll from his robe, and gave it to the bitter Hyuuga, saying, "This has the truth of that day written on it."

Neji took it, grumbling, "How convenient. It probably has excuses for the Main Family written in it." At the sight of the words _To Neji_ written on it, he recognized the hand-writing as his father's. "C-Could it be?" said he, as he opened the scroll.

vvvvvvvvvvv

"The crowd sure is noisy," commented the Kazekage.

"That was a nice battle," responded Sarutobi.

The Kazekage cast a sideways glance at Sarutobi. "Yes, it was, but… the match after the next is something that the head shinobi and the daimyos are really looking forward to. By the way, I didn't see either at the opening ceremony. They are here, are they not?"

Sarutobi knew that the Yondaime Kazekage was almost never the talkative type, and that there was something silky about this man's voice. But he decided to humor the false Kage. "Yes…" In his ear, Raido whispered "We still haven't found Uchiha Sasuke, and there's still the threat of Orochimaru."

Already the people were getting rowdy. "Where is he?" asked Shikamaru. "Is he planning to not show up?"

"If Sabaku no Gaara were here," said Shino, "then Uchiha Sasuke would have made a wise choice. But since neither are here, there should be no excuse."

"Yeah, well, he'd better show up," said Naruto, joining them. "If I know Sasuke, then he'd come here tied up in chains."

"Hokage-dono," said the clearly false Kazekage. "Before you do so, could you please refrain from disqualifying Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Forgive the interruption," said Raido, "but those who don't think much of time as a factor do not deserve to become Chuunin, no matter how elite or powerful they are. Unless he has a good reason that the head shinobi and daimyos will accept, there's no reason to wait for him."

"I see. But there is a good reason: Myself. Along with the head shinobi and daimyos, we all eagerly await the match after next. He is the last Uchiha, after all, and we in Kaze no Kuni wish for him to fight our Gaara."

"Then we'll start the next match," said Sarutobi. "In the meantime, we'll wait for him. If he doesn't show up, then we'll have to disqualify him. The same goes for Sabaku no Gaara."

Raido nodded, and disappeared, reappearing next to Genma, and told him the ruling. Genma nodded, and said to the crowd "Attention please! Neither contender has arrived yet for the match following this next one. So… the match between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara will be moved to the last match."

That got people to thinking. "What the hell is Sasuke doing?" asked Asuma. "Sasuke-kun won't be forced to forfeit, that's good!" exclaimed Ino, while Sakura kept silent.

"Well then… the next match is Ryunosuke Hachi vs. Aburame Shino," said Genma. "Will the two fighters please come down?"

Shino remembered an old saying: "Discretion is the better part of Valor." And in his research in the library, he knew that it was biologically impossible for Hachi to do what he did. Yes, he could've converted his chakra to electricity, but Shino wasn't willing to take that chance and risk losing his colony and his life. To complicate things, his Kikaichu were telling him that there was definitely something wrong with Hachi; he had a malevolent aura like Gaara did. So he did the only thing he could do at the time, and that seemed the most logical.

"I forfeit."

Everyone was caught by surprise by this. Kurenai didn't see that happening at all, and Kiba was like, "WHAT THE HELL!?" Hinata was dismayed that her teammate had given up, but she knew that he had to have had a good reason.

The other finalists had varying results. Hachi narrowed his eyes at the Bug User. 'He's not going to fight? Is it fear? Or something else…?' Naruto and Shikamaru had their eyes widen and said a simultaneous "HUH!?" Last but not least, Temari furrowed her brow and looked at her brother in the stands. Kankurou shrugged, and she turned back to the Aburame heir. She had seen the way the Bug User had defeated the Oto-nin Zaku, proving his strength and intelligence, but then again, Hachi had the power of electricity. It didn't make any since.

Shrugging it off as fear, she drew her wind, and waved it once when it was open. A gust of wind emerged, and she threw her fan over the rail and jumped on it, floating down to the arena floor.

"At least you seem willing to fight," said Genma to the now standing Temari. He then shouted up to the finalists, "Hey! Nara Shikamaru, get down here!!"

Shikamaru was less than willing to fight Temari, and planned on withdrawing like Shino. However, Naruto put a damper on that plan when he shoved Shikamaru over the railing, shouting a "Do your best, Shikamaru!!"

Shikamaru landed at the bottom and lay there. 'Damn you, Naruto,' growled Shikamaru in his mind as he stared at the clouds in the sky, ignoring the jeering of the crowd. 'Everyone wants me to hurry up so they can see Sasuke's match… so now they're being offered a poor opening of the main attraction… Mendokuse...'

Apparently, Temari wasn't going to wait for him to get up, because she rushed him, heedless of Genma's "I haven't told you to start yet!" She tried to bash him with her fan, but Shikamaru took out two kunai, embedded them in the wall behind him, and stood on them, successfully avoiding the blow.

"I don't really care about becoming a Chuunin or not…" said he, "… But I can't stand the idea of losing to a girl, so… you can count me in!" Clearly accepting his challenge, Temari leapt back, opened her fan, then waved it once, sending a gust of wind to pulverize the spot were Shikamaru was. Only to discover that Shikamaru was gone.

Said Genin was hiding behind a tree in the arena, thinking 'It's not like I can just clobber her… I mean, she is a girl…'

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Neji was stunned. His father, whom he had believed to have been murdered by the Main Family, had actually given up his life on his own accord. And his uncle was now on the ground, prostrated before him, asking for forgiveness. After Neji told Hiashi to lift his head, he would take his father's last words to heart:

_Neji, my son, here is what I say to you: Grow up strong. Protect those close to you, and find a way to defy your own destiny._

Glancing out the window, a lone tear streaming down his face, he thought, 'Otou-sama, is destiny like a cloud that floats in a predetermined current? Or is it able to get on the current that it chooses itself. I don't understand, but we might just end up in the same place. But if it is the latter, then we might be able to try hard to reach our goals in life. I have finally found out that it is the ones who possess the will to do that who are truly the strong ones.'

"I will become the strongest, Otou-sama," whispered Neji. "And I will prove that a caged bird is capable of defying its own destiny."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

While Shikamaru had been hiding from Temari, Chouji had shown up, without his Hitai-ate and eating Potato Chips and carrying more in a backpack, and taken a seat next to his female teammate. "Huh…" said Chouji. "Never thought I'd see Shikamaru fighting in the Finals. It's kinda weird."

"What do you mean?" asked Ino. "It might be true that he doesn't have any strong moves, but he's pretty good at devising strategies. That's why we were able to make it to the Prelims. He even jumped to the staged a few minutes ago. I think he's full of determination, unlike normal. He lets his passion drive him today." To her lazy teammate, she yelled, "Go for it, Shikamaru!!"

Said lazy-ass was currently crouched, staring at the clouds from behind the tree. 'The clouds are so nice… so carefree… Actually, I've got no motivation for this. I jus became a shinobi to live an exciting life.' Glancing towards Temari, he saw the hole that previously held Hyuuga Neji. 'Hmmm…' Then it hit him.

He stood upright, glancing downward for the briefest of glimpses, then grinned at Temari. 'But things are hardly ever easy.'

Temari, highly annoyed with Shikamaru, decided to take the initiative. "Ninpou: Kamaitachi!!" she said, and she waved her fan in Shikamaru's direction, sending a whirlwind at the shadow user.

Through the dust, she was able to catch a glimpse of movement, and then she saw a black line streak towards her. Recognizing it as Shikamaru's shadow, she avoided it, then watched as it stop inches short of her. Making a line with the butt of her fan, she then said, "Kage Mane… I've figured out its nature."

At Shikamaru's glare, she continued. "You have limitations to how you can manipulate the size and shape of your shadow. Even though you can stretch it at will… you can't increase the overall size past its regular surface area." In her mind, she formulated that even if he was able to extend his own shadow through the arena's wall shadow, the line that she marked was the furthest that he'd be able to get to.

'Temari's a good distance fighter,' thought Kankurou from his spot in the stands. 'She's measuring the distance between herself and that guy with her fan. She's got this match won.'

In the meantime, Shikamaru had appointed his thinking pose: crouched, his hands in the circle, each finger touching their opposite partner. That caught Asuma by surprise. "That habit of his… He's letting time slip by like a certain old geezer. Whenever he's stuck on something, he assumes that pose." At Kurenai's questioning look, he said, "He's plotting his strategy. We've played Shogi a lot, and whenever he's taken that pose, he's never been beaten."

When Kurenai said that Shikamaru was in a real battle, Asuma said that back in the old days, Shogi was used by military advisors to plot strategies, and that Shikamaru would probably make an excellent military advisor to the village. He then said that as a joke, he had given Shikamaru an I.Q. Test disguised as a puzzle. "He's a sharp one, that Nara. He scored over 200… he's a damned genius! A lazy genius, but a genius nonetheless." All this was said to a now shocked Kurenai.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had left his thinking pose and avoided a Kamaitachi sent by Temari. He took off his short-sleeved vest and tied it to a kunai, then threw it at Temari through the dust. She was able to block it with her fan, only to see the shadow breach the line she made, sending her into a slight panic, only to have to same result from before after dodging a few times.

"I see… so you were stalling for time, waiting for the sun to drop… so that that area of the wall's shadow would increase the surface, and thus increase your shadow as well! Since the length of the day increases the shadows…"

She was sure that Shikamaru was at his limit, at least, until her frantic brother told her to look up. Casting a glance upward, she saw that the kunai from earlier that was tied to his headband and vest was floating down. This caused a shadow below the makeshift parachute to appear, and Shikamaru's shadow surged into and out of it. Temari barely saw it coming, but she was able to avoid it once again.

'I never would've guessed that he'd use his own clothing as a parachute to give himself more shadows to work with,' she thought. 'This guy is something else. He kept me from noticing the parachute in the air with his shadow on the ground. But now, if I pay attention to the parachute, I won't be able to see his ground attacks!' Rather annoyed at having to jump around, she opened her fan, and slammed it into the ground.

"Time to end this," she said to herself. "He'll gain the advantage with the arena wall shadow increasing. I'll use Bunshin no Jutsu to create a diversion, then I'll distract him with the Bunshin while ending it all with a Kamaitachi." Glancing downward, she saw his shadow retreating. "OK!!" she said, going through the Ram Seal, then the Snake Seal. Right when she was about to do the Tiger Seal, she realized that she couldn't move.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu… Success!!" said Shikamaru, drawing his hands apart and forcing her to do the same. Turns out that the hole that was next to the tree that Shikamaru was by had his shadow go in it, and it emerged from the hole behind Temari, which what he was showing her by turning her head. "Remember when Naruto fought Neji? His Doton Jutsu had to have an entry point. So I found the entry point, and was able to have it connect to the exit point… where Neji was pulled into the ground!"

"Although that was a big gamble," said Asuma to Kurenai. "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu almost never leaves an entry point, or connection. Only in the hands of a newbie to it would such a thing happen." 'You got lucky Shikamaru. Or was that it the whole time?'

Temari, on the other hand, was kicking herself for falling into his trap. But then she remembered. 'Th-The parachute was a diversion!? The parachute was a diversion to manipulate me over here?!' Glaring at Shikamaru, she growled out, "You-you bastard!!"

"Before they knew it," muttered Kotetsu, "everyone got drawn into the match."

"Yeah," replied Izumo. "Another possible Chuunin applicant, even if he's lazier than hell."

Kotetsu's words rang true, as everyone watched closely as Shikamaru and Temari (the latter forcibly) walked up to each other. The civilians, the shinobi, even the two Kage watched to see what happened. The only thing being spoken was Chouji's "If he gives up, you owe me twenty ryou, Ino…" and Ino's "Deal." Boufuu was muttering, "He could be a major problem, later…" while over with the fighters, Naruto yelled, "C'mon Shikamaru! Go for the gold!" Then he raised his right arm…

… And said "I'm done. I forfeit the match."

At this, nearly everyone watching the match did good imitations of fish. The only noise being made was Chouji's "I win, Ino. You really don't know Shikamaru that well, do you?"

Then Shikamaru gave his reasoning to the glaring Genma. "I used up too much chakra trying to catch her with my Kage Mane. I'll only be able to hold on for about ten more seconds. So even though I've got about 200 more strategies planned out, time is a factor I don't have."

'That was… strange,' thought Genma, before announcing, "Shousa, Sabaku no Temari!!"

vvvvvvvvvvv

Even though Shikamaru had forfeited, not much was to be said about him doing what he did, except that he proved that he had the mental capacity for a Chuunin. In any case, the crowd had dropped Shikamaru's match like a hot potato and were eagerly awaiting the next match.

At that moment, Gai and Rock Lee made their way into the stadium, awestruck with the news that Naruto had defeated Neji. However, Boufuu had caught a glimpse of the fuzzy-browed elder and cursed. "That damned Blue Beast… he could screw everything up."

"Patience, Boufuu-sensei," said Kureji, of all people. "And you tell me that patience is a virtue…"

In the meantime, the crowd was getting rowdy. But before a riot was about to break out, a swirl of leaves appeared in the arena, catching everyone by surprise. The leaves eventually fell, revealing Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke, however, was wearing a different outfit than usual. He wore a black version of his regular outfit, except this outfit was a combination short-sleeved shirt and shorts that went to his knees. He had bandages on his left arm to the elbow, and a belt-like object wrapped around the bandages on his arm and lower legs.

"Sorry we're late," said Kakashi, to the joy of Sakura and the general majority of the crowd. "Uchiha Sasuke reporting in."

"Well, you're lucky," said Genma with a small smile. "Sasuke's match has been pushed to the end, so he hasn't been disqualified yet. However…" he trailed off, glancing at the rest of the Genin in the fighters box. Still no Sabaku no Gaara.

"Damnation," growled Baki. "Because of Gaara's absence, the majority of the plan is screwed." Temari and Kankurou were thinking along the same lines.

'Sorry, Baki,' thought Boufuu, casting a glance at Baki two people over. 'The Demon that Loves Itself is currently out on a lunch date.'

"Due to the absence of Sabaku no Gaara," said Genma, "and the time limit having been expired to arrive, the winner of the fourth match is Uchiha Sasuke."

Despite the disappointment of many, many being the incensed Kazekage, the crowd still cheered, under the assumption that Gaara feared the mighty Uchiha.

Sasuke and Kakashi appeared next to Gai and Lee, and Sakura was rather livid at her sensei being late. However, Kakashi was more concentrated on the ANBU he and Gai had noticed. 'Eight individual ANBU… just two teams.'

"That concludes the first round of the Chuunin Exam Finals!" said Genma to the crowd. "We now move onto the first match of the Semifinals, Uzumaki Naruto vs. Ryunosuke Hachi."

Hachi grinned. Finally he would get the match he was hoping for.

Shino, on the other hand, was apprehensive. As Naruto walked passed him, he uttered a low, "He's got something like you do… be wary of him," startling Naruto.

Hinata was concerned for her boyfriend. She remembered how quick Hachi had defeated Kankurou a month ago. 'Stay safe, Naruto-kun,' she thought, clasping her hands together.

When the two reached the center of the arena, Genma glanced at both and said, "Alright then, Hajime!"

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Neither moved. Hachi had a devilish grin on his face, that was soon explained by his next words. "I wish… to have a memorable fight. It would please me greatly to fight the real you, not some past version."

Naruto twitched. First, Shino had somehow found out about the Kyuubi, and told that Hachi had something like it in him, and now Hachi had seen through his henge, and wanted it gone. Granted, Naruto wasn't ready to take it off yet, but who was he to defy another fighter a last request before fighting. "Damn you," he said grinning. "I wanted to do it later, but you've forced my hand." With that, he disengaged the henge.

Everyone leaned in at the sight of the orange jumpsuit disappearing, and Naruto in his green vest, black pants, and fingerless gloves appearing. "Wha… wha…" was all Ino could get out, while Sasuke glared at his blonde teammate. 'What the hell?'

Sarutobi chuckled. 'So now he reveals the true shinobi under the prankster.'

Hachi nodded, then held out his right arm. Using his left arm, he detached the armor on his forearm, and threw it in the air, and did the same to his shoulder armor. The two pieces of armor fell to the ground and threw up a cloud of dust, as well as making a slight "THOOM", not as loud as Lee's, but enough to prove a point.

The Rookie Nine in the stands, their sensei's, the two Kages, and everyone else except Boufuu, Kurisu, and Kureji, gaped in shock. That Kumo-nin had weights on one arm. Then…

Hachi's chest armor proved to be weighted as well. Underneath the chest armor, he had a black tank top that slightly molded to his body. "My armor not only serves as weights…" he said, slanting his eyes and relaxing his arms in front of him. "They also serve as limiters."

While Temari was staring in shock at the Kumo-nin that had defeated her brother, Shino silently knew that his suspicions were true. "So this is him, then," said Shino, the bugs in his body becoming unsettled. "This… is the true Ryunosuke Hachi."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The Jounin and the Kages were shocked by the amount of power Hachi's aura was giving off. 'He's strong… he might be strong enough to rival Nidaime-sama,' thought Sarutobi. "This is unnatural," said Gai. "I agree," said Kakashi. "No one his age should have an aura like that."

"What do you mean?" asked Sasuke, trying to find the source of Hachi's power.

"That kid from Kumogakure is giving off an aura that reflects a Kage-level chakra coil," said Neji, coming from behind.

In the meantime, the cat-masked ANBU in the back put his hands in the Tiger Seal, and one by one, the people began to fall asleep in the back.

Meanwhile, Naruto had shifted into a fighting stance, and said to Hachi, "Time to do this."

"**Careful, pup. He's got a nasty feel to him, and a familiar one, too…**"

'Thanks for the tip, Yoko (2).'

"Yeah," said Hachi, grinning maniacally. "Let's make this a fight to remember."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

(1) Raikage – The shinobi leader of Kumogakure and the leader of Rai no Kuni. One of the Five Kages, the others being the Mizukage, the Hokage, the Kazekage, and the Tsuchikage. Translates into Lightening Shadow.

(2) Yoko - Naruto's name for the Kyuubi. Literal translation means "Mystical Fox".

_Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: _The long-awaited battle between Naruto and Hachi comes to pass! But during the fighting, Oto and Suna attack! In addition, we'll find out the sad truth to the plan of the Kumo-nin. Can the Rookie Nine face a new and terrible enemy and win!? And where in the seven hells is Sabaku no Gaara!?! Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: Ryu no Kumo! The True Battle Begins!!

Ox… Dog… Tiger… Snake… Dragon… Ram!! ((poof)) PLEASE REVIEW no Jutsu!! And now, the Guardius has gotta fly. Catch youse guys later!!

((Rai Shunshin no Jutsu))


	7. Ryu no Kumo! The True Battle Begins!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Not really much to say, except thanks for all the reviews. I promise, once you see the fight between Hachi and Naruto, it's all original from there.

On another note, to repeat what I said last chapter, I'm hoping to get at least 10 reviews for the next chapter. It would be helpful if I got more, though.

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**_Blah_**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

_**Answer to reviews:**_

**Everyone who commented on the Pseudo-Lemon**: I'll expand on the Pseudo-Lemon a little later, or create another one later. Whichever I'm closest to.

**Tellemicus Sundance**: I see what you're saying, but according to Naruto Chronology, around the Chuunin Exams, the Kyuubi Attack took place thirteen years ago, when the Rookie Nine plus Gaara were born, thereby putting their ages in between twelve and thirteen. However, I deem that the closest age it is in the manga, based on body structure, all the Rookie Nine, plus Team Gai and Gaara, are thirteen years of age. But you do raise a good point.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 7: Ryu no Kumo! The True Battle Begins!!

Naruto and Hachi were at a standoff, neither willing to make the first move. After all, patience is a virtue.

"**Not right now it isn't,**" muttered the Kyuubi in Naruto's head. '**I don't like this at all. This chakra feels familiar, but it can't be him. I mean, he's been gone for about three hundred years.**'

Finally, when an inconspicuous leaf swirled in front of the two and dropped to the ground, Hachi moved. Performed a set of seals, he finished in the Ram Seal and separated his hands, so that they were half-Ram Seals and facing Naruto. "Raiton: Moutouryu no Jutsu (1A)!!" he yelled, and a solid stream of lightening shot from his hand. Halfway to Naruto, the end twisted, and formed a set of dragon heads roared and streaked towards the blonde shinobi.

Naruto performed Kage Bunshin, and he and the four Bunshins shot out of the way of the lightening dragon beam, and it impacted against the arena wall, leaving a large crater.

vvvvvvvvv

Kakashi flinched at the size. "That would have been bad if it had hit," he said, his Sharingan activated.

Sasuke had his Sharingan activated as well, in the hopes of copying the Jutsu that Hachi just did. 'Soon Itachi, you will fall by my hand. But first, I must see how the dobe will fare.'

Neji could not help but feel a pang of disgust at the Sensei and student. 'No wonder Hizashi-tou-sama had minimal respect for the Uchiha's. I just hope that Uzumaki would fare well against the Kumo-nin, so that I may battle him again,' he thought, watching the match without his Byakugan. He then cast a sideward glance at his younger cousin.

Hinata had her hands clasped together and her cousin had their Kekkai Genkai deactivated because of the sheer power Hachi was putting out. Even as far as they were, they could slightly feel the chakra of the Kumo-nin; weak up where they were, but malevolent.

Shikamaru had joined the rest of the Rookie Nine plus Team Gai, and already he didn't like how things looked. "Mendokuse," he groaned. "The way it looks now, if that Hachi guy's as strong as I think, then this is gonna be one messed-up arena."

vvvvvvvvvv

Naruto had his Kage Bunshin rush Hachi and joined them. The five Naruto's ran at the Kumo-nin, who in response performed some seals. Snake… Dragon… Tiger… Ram… Horse… Monkey… Tiger!

'A Katon Jutsu?' Naruto asked himself. He got his answer as Hachi inhaled, then thrust his upper body forward and exhaled and stream of white-hot fire. "Katon: Karyuiki no Jutsu (2A)!!" roared Hachi.

The stream of fire took out three clones, and Naruto and the other clone leapt to the side. "This is getting ridiculous," growled Naruto.

Hachi finished with the fire, and then performed yet more seals. Snake… Bird… Dragon… Ram… Monkey… Bird… Ram!! "Raiton: Rairyuiki no Jutsu (3A)!!" This time, a raw bolt of lightening shot out of Hachi's mouth, streaking towards the two Naruto's. The Naruto it managed to hit disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the other Naruto leapt into the air.

Naruto watched as Hachi ceased the lightening bolt and turned his face upward, just in time for the Kumo-nin in catch Naruto sandaled foot in the face. The force of the blow caused Hachi to lean backwards slightly, and then Naruto launched himself off the Kumo-nin into the air.

To everyone's surprise, Hachi merely hunched himself over, grinned, then cast his gaze upwards to the airborne Naruto. He then leapt into the air after Naruto, and appeared above him. He then did a few more seals. Boar… Dog… Ox… Hare… Monkey... After the Monkey Seal, he grabbed his right wrist. The few seconds after, the fist that held the wrist (hey, a rhyme) began to crackle and glow with Lightening.

vvvvvvvvv

Kakashi's eyes widened. "It can't be!!" he breathed.

"What sensei?" asked Sakura.

"That Hachi kid looks like he just performed a Jutsu similar to my original Jutsu," said Kakashi. "I knew Sasuke wouldn't stand a chance against Sabaku no Gaara in his current state, so I had him increase his speed, and taught him my original Jutsu: the Chidori."

"Also called the Raikiri, since Kakashi was rumored to have sliced a lightening bolt in two with it. Though I find it irresponsible of my eternal rival to teach said move to a Genin," said Gai, sending a hard look at Kakashi.

"This coming from the Jounin who taught his own Genin a forbidden taijutsu move," said Kakashi, his eyes back on the match. "All I know is, if a move like that connects, it will most certainly be lethal.

Meanwhile, the cat-masked ANBU was still making people in the back fall asleep one by one.

vvvvvvvvv

The false Kazekage widened his eye. "I did not expect a Kumo-nin to reproduce the move of Sharingan no Kakashi."

Sarutobi shook his head. "That is no reproduction. But that Kumo-nin is something else." And he silently hoped that Naruto would pull through.

vvvvvvvvv

Everyone made a visible flinch when Hachi raised the glowing hand, curled it into a fist, then brought it down on Naruto's back, yelling, "Raiton: Rairyutsui no Jutsu (4A)!!" The impact of the fist made an audible thudding noise that shot the unfortunate blonde to the ground and, upon impact, created a three-square foot crater.

Hachi was visibly surprised when the dust cleared to reveal his chest armor. He spun around to see a foot hit his chin, sending him in the air.

Naruto once again, performed Kage Bunshin, creating four more Naruto's, then sent the Bunshin after Hachi. With each impact, he yelled, "U! Zu! Ma! Ki! Naruto Rendan!!" With his cry of his technique, he delivered a downward kick to Hachi's head, sending the Kumo-nin to the ground with the final blow.

Hachi impacted on the ground, but rose up again. "C'mon," he said, motioning towards himself. "I know you can do better than that." With that, he performed a familiar set of seals: Snake… Ram… Monkey… Boar… Horse… Tiger!! Inhaling, he thrust his head forward, yelling, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" The Grand Fireball shot out and flew towards Naruto who was forced to use his other Doton Jutsu.

Slamming his hands into the ground, he yelled, "Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (5A)!!" A wall of earth rose up and generally shielded Naruto from serious harm.

vvvvvvvvvv

"Those two are starting to scare me," said Shikamaru, his eyes on the match.

"You weren't kidding," said Chouji. "Those two look like they're going all out."

Kiba was starting to worry. Akamaru was whining in his ear about the Kumo-nin, and how unnatural he was. "Kakashi-san," he began, turning to the Copy-nin. "How hard is it to do a Raiton Jutsu?"

Kakashi closed his visible eye, then opened it, exhaling. "Raiton Ninjutsu are among the hardest to use, because of the chakra required to make the lightening, and the amount of chakra control needed to use it correctly."

Sasuke snorted. "In addition, you'd have to have a large chakra coil just to try and pull off one. They require much more effort than Katon Ninjutsu." Inwardly, he was silently rejoicing at the chance to use the Raiton Ninjutsu that Hachi was using against his brother, to fulfill his ambition.

"But this is ridiculous," said Kotetsu. "That Kumo-nin unleashed three Raiton Jutsu's, all I'm sure are High C to High A-Rank. Then he did two Katon Jutsu's, one Mid C-rank, and the other an unknown."

"I'd classify it as Low B-Rank," said Izumo, watching as Hachi sent another Goukakyuu at Naruto.

vvvvvvvvvv

Naruto narrowly avoided the Grand Fireball, and started conversing with the Kyuubi. 'Ora, Yoko!! A little help?'

"**What?**"

'You heard me! Look, every time I land a blow on him, he shakes it off and keeps coming. And he should've been out of chakra by now.'

"**Yeah, well there are two things I can do: One, put more chakra than normal in your Kage Bunshin.**"

'But that'll make them explo—" Naruto immediately saw what Kyuubi was doing. 'Okay, that's one problem solved, what was the second thing you were going to say?'

"**Number Two: Fire off one of those Grand Fireballs.**"

'I can't! I don't know how!' yelled Naruto in his mind as he dodged several thrown kunai.

"**I'll give you the seals in you head, dumbass. And don't' screw them up.**"

"Okay," said Naruto to himself. He did the familiar cross signs, signaling his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. 'Wait a minute, I should've been out of chakra by now!!' he yelled in his mind.

"**Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you, I'm giving you some of my chakra freely. Mainly 'cause I don't feel like having my vessel beaten.**"

'Yeah, well, thanks.' That being said, Naruto created two Kage Bunshins this time, and the three Naruto's charged at the Kumo-nin. At the last minute, the Kumo-nin clothes-lined two of the Naruto's, which turned out to be not a good thing.

The clones exploded, sending up dust and smoke, and encompassing Hachi in flames.

vvvvvvvvvv

"Huh," said Asuma. "Didn't know he could do Kibaku Kage Bunshin (6A)."

"It looks like Uzumaki has discovered the true nature of Kage Bunshin. As I always say, the springtime of youth will always prevail!" yelled Gai.

Neji cast his glance to the other side of the stadium, mainly to avoid killing his sensei, but found that his uncle and cousin were gone. 'Probably back to the compound,' he thought.

In the meantime, the cat-masked ANBU was still making the people fall asleep. 'I apologize for the long wait, Orochimaru-sama… but I've not had much time to perfect the Nehan Shouja no Jutsu (7A)'

Hinata was somewhat surprised when Naruto managed to pull off the Goukakyuu no Jutsu, and she cast a sideward glance at Sasuke. Sasuke was visibly seething, and Hinata was sure that it had to do with Naruto using an Uchiha Clan Katon Jutsu. "Naruto-kun…"

vvvvvvvvvv

Naruto grinned as he saw the Grand Fireball engulf the hapless Kumo-nin, but then he blanched when the fire was dissipated and Hachi appeared spread-eagled, like a hawk ready to take flight.

"Fire!?" he roared. "I was born of this!!" Clapping his hands together, he began converting his some of his massive chakra into lightening and, clapping his hands together, started charging up. Soon, lightening appeared around him in an aura. "I'll give you credit, Uzumaki!" said Hachi, as he put his hands in the Kai Position. "You're the first person I've tried this move on!"

With that, he shouted "KAI!!" and immediately after, he disappeared in a flash of light, yelling, "Raiton: Doragon Taiho (8A)!!"

With all that power Hachi was giving out, Naruto uttered a classic phrase that people say when they're in deep trouble: "Oh, shit." He knew that at the range he was at, whatever Hachi's jutsu did would probably hurt like hell, so he performed Doton: Doroku Gaeshi again as a safety measure.

At that moment, Hachi let loose with the lightening that he charged up. The lightening exploded in a shockwave that sent lightening in all directions in the form of a dome. In addition, stray bolts of lightening struck the walls of the arena at random intervals. One such bolt completely blew apart the earth wall Naruto had erected.

vvvvvvvvvvv

Everyone had to shield their eyes from the intense light, and when it died down, they uncovered their eyes to survey the damage.

"Good god," said Kurenai, eyes wide. There was a giant crater where Hachi was, and he was standing at the edge of it.

Hinata was wide-eyed with worry and fear. Naruto had disappeared, but the remains of his earth wall were still there. "N-no…"

Kakashi was beside himself. That technique that Hachi did, he would have classified it as a Mid S-Rank Jutsu. The damage was extensive, but what chilled Kakashi was the absence of his student. Naruto had vanished completely, and there was nothing left to say that he had survived.

The Kazekage gazed down at Hachi with apprehension. 'That Kumo-nin is strong… perhaps too strong. Perhaps concentrating on the Uchiha was not the smartest thing.'

Sarutobi, however, furrowed his brow. If Naruto was truly gone, then that Kumo-nin was unstoppable.

Baki had similar thoughts. 'What the hell has Kumogakure done to their shinobi?'

Sakura was awestruck with fear. "Wha-what is he? Wh-where is Naruto?"

Kakashi, preparing for the worst, opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of cracking earth caused everyone watching to look at Hachi. Hachi was sucked into the earth, and in front of him, Naruto leaped out of the ground and landed in front of him.

Hinata was relieved to see that he was, for the most part, okay. Sighing in relief, she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. 'Yatta, Naruto-kun.'

It was when Hachi pulled himself out of the ground, and glared at Naruto, that she began to see the feathers. There were feathers falling in front of her eyes, and she was becoming drowsy.

Immediately, the Jounin, the other ANBU, and some of the Chuunin in the stands, placed their hands in the Tiger Seal, and muttered, "Kai!" Sakura, having paid attention in class, immediately did the same. Not drowsy at all now, she took note that Neji, Hinata, Ino, Sasuke, Kiba, and Chouji were awake. Shikamaru wasn't so lucky.

vvvvvvvvv

Up in the stands, the false Kazekage set off a smoke bomb, obscuring the box from view. When he felt the signature of the ANBU coming, he jumped out of the smoke onto the roof, where he kept a kunai to Sandaime's neck.

He didn't even flinch when the guards he had were cut in half by the ANBU, only to turn out to be four kids, all about 14.

One kid had six arms, and his hair pulled into a ponytail. Another had blue hair, and what looked like a second head on the back of his neck. The other was a large kid with an orange Mohawk, and the final was a girl with red hair.

The four appeared on the corners of the roof, and simultaneously clapped their hands together and yelled, "Shishienjin (9A)!" Immediately, a purple wall rose up to encompass the two Kages. One of the four ANBU tried to penetrate it, only to burst into purple flames on contact. That was enough incentive for the other three to wait for the four to run out. They were understandably dismayed when the four sat down and erected a similar shield inside the corners, boxing them in.

"Stay safe, Sandaime-sama," uttered one of the ANBU.

"I was wondering when you'd show your face… Orochimaru," said a stoic Sarutobi.

vvvvvvvvv

Outside the stadium, the walls of Konoha had been breached by the Kyodaija, the giant snake brothers. Hissing, they made their way toward the center of Konoha.

vvvvvvvvv

When the smoke bomb went off, Naruto cast his gaze to the Kage box, then to the stands. His first thought was to make sure that everyone up there was okay, then see what everything was about.

By this time, Hachi had disappeared, and Boufuu, Kurisu, and Kureji were up and ready to leave. On Boufuu's shoulder was a black-haired limp figure, obviously feminine, and unconscious. "Time to go," he growled, and was to the stairs in the middle when Kakashi stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going… Gigan no Boufuu?" asked Kakashi as Boufuu glared at him.

"Away from here," snapped Boufuu, and Kurisu and Kureji used Shunshin to escape.

"I don't think so," said Kakashi, his Sharingan eye revealed. "I know all about you. Your real name is Kurotora Boufuu, also called Gigan no Boufuu, because of the tiger eye you implanted in place of your original eye after the Third Shinobi War."

"You're wanted in Kusa no Kuni and Konoha for sabotage and assassination," finished Gai, as he and Kakashi shifted into a battle stance.

"I think that you should worry less about me," said Boufuu, shifting the girl to his other shoulder, "and worry more about your students. I'm the least of your problems."

Seeing Boufuu pointing behind them, they heard the sounds of Neji grunting. When they turned and saw him, Boufuu took that opportunity to vamoose. He was gone in a flash of lightening, with his voice lingering, saying, "Konoha must now face the threat of the Ryu no Kumo… How can you hope to stand against it…?"

"Ryu no Kumo?" asked Gai. "What is this Ryu no Kumo?"

"I don't know," said Kakashi, tossing a kunai at a random Oto-nin. He then saw Baki talking to Temari and Kankurou, and the two Genin leapt away. 'Probably to search for that Gaara kid,' thought Kakashi. When he saw Sasuke go after them, he shook his head. 'That boy's gonna be the cause of his own death.'

When he saw Shino aid his companion with his Kikaichu, and drained the chakra of two Suna-nin, he turned and addressed the awake Genin. "I've got an A-Rank mission for all of you: Aid Sasuke in any way possible."

"Sensei," asked Sakura, "where'd Sasuke-kun go?"

"Uchiha went after the two Suna Genin," said Shino.

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Naruto. "Let's go!!"

vvvvvvvvv

"Kukuku… how did you know it was me, Sarutobi-sensei?" asked Orochimaru as he tore off the Kazekage's face and mask.

"You were a genius, Orochimaru," said Sarutobi, glaring at his former student. "And as it is with all genius', you got careless. That, and an unknown source revealed your plans to us."

Orochimaru growled inwardly. Whoever that outside force was would pay dearly. However, Buki and Baki would keep the nin down in the arena busy, and with the Shishienjin up, the others would be unable to do anything to aid Sandaime Hokage.

"Why do you want to destroy Konoha, Orochimaru?" asked Sarutobi. "You'd destroy your own home for profit."

"Of course. Konoha is currently the strongest village in the Shinobi Nations. With the destruction of Konoha, the ensuing power struggle will result with the empty power vacuum being filled to anyone." Motioning to himself, he concluded with, "And I shall be the one to fill it."

vvvvvvvvv

Long story short, Kakashi booted Shikamaru out since Shikamaru was awake the entire time. Groaning, he regrouped with Naruto and the others. "For the record, this is troublesome as hell."

Shino faced the other nine. "I don't care much for the Uchiha, but he is a fellow Konoha-nin, and teamwork is the foundation of Konoha."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, and we're gonna find him and help stop the invasion. Me, Hinata, and Shikamaru'll go on ahead."

"I'm going with you," said Sakura. "Sasuke-kun will need all the help he can get."

Shino nodded. "And I will find Hachi." At the looks of confusion, he elaborated, "If my assumptions are correct, then his presence will add to our problems."

"I shall aid you," said Neji.

With that, the Genin separated; Naruto, Hinata, Sakura and Shikamaru heading towards the center of the village, Neji and Shino heading to the west, and Ino, Chouji, and Kiba following the earlier three.

vvvvvvvvvv

Sasuke chased after the two Suna-nin, relentless in his pursuit. He knew that he would have to prove his superiority as an Uchiha, and his recently acquired jutsus were proof of that.

He was cast out of his thoughts when he saw the female Suna-nin get thrown into a wall, and land with a scream. Her teammate landed beside her, his head-piece falling off, and he grimaced in pain.

Sasuke soon realized the cause, as what looked a mauled ANBU landed in front of him, missing his mask, revealing a Hyuuga. He also took note that he was near a bunch of ratty-looking apartments.

"Yoshinara-sama!" cried a voice, one that Sasuke recognized as the kunoichi of Team 8. He turned to see Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Shikamaru. Said Hyuuga ANBU on the ground, rasped, "R-run… Hi-Hinata-sama…" before expiring. Once that was done, Ryunosuke Hachi, the Genin of Kumogakure, landed behind the late Hyuuga Yoshinara, his head bowed.

"H-Hachi-san… you ki-killed my uncle?" asked Hinata, terrified by the imposing aura the Kumo-nin was giving off.

Hachi lifted his head, to reveal his grinning malevolent face, with blood dripping from his mouth. "Yeeessss… and he was **delicioussssss**…"

vvvvvvvvvv

Sarutobi removed his Hokage robes to reveal his battle suit. Orochimaru did the same, to reveal the same clothes he wore when he attacked Team 7. "So, you have your funeral shroud prepared," hissed Orochimaru.

Glancing at the kids in the corners, Sarutobi chuckled and said, "Looks like I can't get out of here that easy."

Facing each other, the former sensei and student prepared to face off. The two eventually rushed each other, performing seals. Sarutobi finished with the Tiger Seal and muttered, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.", while Orochimaru clapped his hands together and said, "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (10A) !!"

Immediately, a coffin rose up, bearing the kanji "Shodai", then another rose, bearing the kanji "Ni". Sarutobi knew what his former student was doing, and he clapped his hands together in a fist. 'I must stop the third one!!'

He was able to stop it, and his shuriken slammed into the other two. 'The third one… it didn't work it seems,' he thought. 'Oh, well… that's fine. I was able to stop the third one… but things are gonna be tougher now. Of all the people he could summon, he had to summon those two…'

The coffin lids fell to the ground, to reveal… Abumi Zaku and Tsuchi Kin.

vvvvvvvvv

Boufuu looked behind himself at the wall, and he saw the bodies of Zaku and Kin fall to the ground. He chuckled, patting the unconscious girl on his shoulder. "Looks like the Hebi-Sennin fell for my corpse dolls."

Kurisu shook his heads. "You've got an unnatural affinity for the corpse dolls, don't you? They're so realistic, it's disturbing."

"But that's the whole point, right Boufuu-sensei?" asked Kureji.

"Yeah," replied Boufuu, motioning to the real Kin on his shoulder. "We need a host for Rai-sama, and she is perfect. The reason she like this now is because Hachi created another chakra coil in her body, but it had to be done while she was in the hospital, and after he had put her in this state of suspended animation."

"Who's Rai-sama?"

"That Kureji," said Kurisu, looking at his teammate, "is Kurotora Clan business." Turning to his Clan Member/Sensei, he asked, "And where is our teammate?"

Boufuu sent him a chilling look. "Preparing for the moment of annihilation." With that, the three Kumo-nin leapt off to the east, toward the village wall, and the forest beyond.

vvvvvvvvvvv

Kiba, Ino, and Chouji arrived to see Hachi step over the corpse of Hyuuga Yoshinara. "You know… I've waited too long for a chance like this…" growled Hachi, his eyes no longer the hazelnut brown they once were, but a malevolent yellow with slitted pupils.

'Just like Orochimaru,' thought Sakura. She then said, "Hachi-san, what… what… why did you kill him?"

"He got in my way," said Hachi lazily. "But now, I want to fight the strongest."

"You want me?" said Sasuke, activating his Sharingan and shifting into Lee's taijutsu stance.

Hachi chuckled and said, "What did I tell you, Uchiha? I don't give a **fuck** about you… I've already beaten the strongest of the Sand… now I want the strongest of the Leaf."

Temari, who at this point had Kankurou beside her, brandished her fan and yelled, "What the hell did you do to our ototo (1)?" Kankurou let loose Kurasu, the four-armed puppet on his back. "Exactly what I was thinking," said he.

Hachi chuckled and showed them a storage scroll. "You want him?" he asked, then did the exact thing Orochimaru did: He opened his mouth, shoved the scroll down his mouth, and swallowed. "Come and get him," he finished growling.

Sakura, however, was at a lost, as was Ino. "You took out Gaara? Wh-what are you?"

"A Jinchuuriki," came Shino's voice. Shino landed to the side of Hachi, along with Neji. "One of those unfortunates who have had one of the Kyuu no Bijuu sealed in them."

Naruto and Hinata stiffened. Kiba narrowed his eyes, and asked, "The Kyuu no Bijuu?"

"The Kyuu no Bijuu are the legendary tailed beasts that once traveled through the land. The Kyuubi that attacked the village thirteen years ago was one of the nine. But the majority have been sealed into human children at birth. You've seen one already… Sabaku no Gaara."

Sakura and Ino stiffened. "So that Gaara guy is a demon?"

"No," said Shino coldly. "He is but a vessel, not the demon itself. And he has suffered for having it forced on him. Those rings around his eyes are two things: the mark of an insomniac, and the mark of the Ichibi no Tanuki, Suna no Shukaku."

Temari and Kankurou were amazed by how much Shino knew about their little brother. "Ho-how do you know all that?" asked Kankurou.

"Hachi," said Shino, "left a very informative book from when he visited the Shinobi Library. And my theory was proven correct about his abilities as a Jinchuuriki. He is, I presume, to be the Jinchuuriki of Rokubi no Raiju (2); the Beast of Lightening."

Hachi, who was silent up until this point, began to chuckle, and it eventually escalated into full-blown laughter. "It's as I thought, not all Konoha-nin are idiots. But you made a critical error." With that, he removed his head-piece, and the sight of what was there caused everyone present to recoil in horror.

Hachi's head was shaved, and the patterns that were visible from earlier were similar to Kankurou's, without the mouth-patterns. But on top of his head, about two inches apart and about two inches above his eyes, sweeping backwards were two thin crests.

Reptilian crests.

"You don't actually think that I am that low on the ranking, do you?" he asked. Thumping his fist to his chest, he proclaimed, "I am Ryunosuke Hachi, the Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi no Ryu, the almighty Hachimata (3)!"

Shino stiffened. That _was_ a critical error. The Hachibi no Ryu was the second strongest of the Kyuu no Bijuu. But according to the book, the Hachibi had not been seen in for a long time.

"**Fucking Damnation, I knew it,**" growled Kyuubi in Naruto's head. "**That bastard Hachimata was always an egotistical maniac. And crazy as hell, too**"

Naruto listened, but heard Hachi as well. "Hachimata-sama has made me the most powerful being in the world. With the other Bijuu gone, he is the absolute ruler of the world. And there's nothing you can do about, not even with your own Jinchuuriki!"

This got Shikamaru to thinking. "But Konoha doesn't have a Jinchuuriki," said he, voicing everyone's thoughts.

This made Hachi laugh even more. "Hehehe, you're kidding, right? He's been under your noses the whole time."

Then came the inevitable. Naruto wanted to kill Hachi for spilling the beans on his little S-Rank Secret. Hinata clutched his arm, preparing for the worst. Shino was silent, but inwardly, he was worried. Things might not go over well with the others.

"Sasuke-kun is the Jinchuuriki?"

Naruto would have fallen down if he could, but he didn't want to blow his cover. But he was still amazed at how much of an idiot his pink-haired teammate was. Sasuke was about to say something, but he was cut off by Hachi.

"No, you stupid broad," growled Hachi, pointing to himself. "All Jinchuuriki bear signs of the Bijuu within. I have the crests, Sabaku no Gaara had the insomnia…"

"And Naruto has the whisker-marks," finished Shikamaru, catching on. He kicked himself for not noticing earlier. The hatred of the adults, the absence of Naruto at the Kyuubi Festival, the healing factor from the Prelims… all pointed to Naruto.

"Yesss… You've figured it out haven't you?" said Hachi, grinning. "And for the record, it's impossible for a human to kill one of the Bijuu."

That clinched it. The realization hit the others like a freight train. Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, everyone, except for Hinata and Shino, gaped at Uzumaki Naruto. "Na-Naruto," stuttered Sakura. "You have the… Kyuubi?"

Naruto, ready to tear Hachi apart for his revelation, lifted up his shirt and vest for all to see. The familiar spiral stood out, shimmering on his abdomen. "Neji… I wasn't lying when I said we both have a seal we can never be rid of. Your is the Caged Bird Seal… and mine is the Shiki Fuuin. The seal of the Shinigami."

Turning his attention to Hachi, he snarled, "Why? Why did you do that? To turn them against me?"

Hachi chuckled and said, "They deserve to know what they're up against. I've successfully tapped into Hachimata-sama's powers, while you have not. I could kill you right now, and defeat Konoha's last chance at survival." He pointed towards the village. "Those stupid bastards hate you with a vengeance, just because you carry gift that was fated to make you the most powerful person in the village."

At this point, Naruto was so mad that a tear began to stream his face. "Do you think I had a choice!? Do you think I asked for this curse!?"

"**What curse?**" asked the Kyuubi grumbily.

'I'm just ranting right now.' "No one sees me for me, and it's all because of the Kyuubi! I just want acknowledgment for myself, but the adults refuse that!!"

Sakura and the others were beside themselves. The Kyuubi wasn't killed, it was sealed in their fellow Genin. The adults had lied to them, but Naruto had as well, for not telling them.

"With power like that," yelled Sasuke to Naruto, "You could do anything."

Shino spoke, but in a cold chilling voice. "Uchiha, you dumbass. The Hokage made it an S-Rank Secret to save his life from the villagers that repeatedly try to kill him. How would it look if he fought back?"

vvvvvvvvvvv

Sarutobi chuckled. "Looks like your jutsu failed, idiot apprentice." Performing the required seals, he slammed his hand into the ground and said, "Kuchiyose: Enma!" After the puff of smoke, a white-haired man-sized monkey with a Konoha hitai-ate appeared. "Sarutobi," said the monkey, King Enma. "My old friend, why have you summoned me?" Catching sight of the incensed Orochimaru, Enma shook his head. "Didn't I tell you to kill him before."

"Sorry, Enma," said Sarutobi. "I couldn't kill him then, but I will kill him now."

"I hope you can," said Enma, as he transformed into the Adamantine Staff.

"You? Hope to kill me?" hissed Orochimaru. "Old Geezer, the difference between our powers are too great." With that, he opened his mouth, and out came a snake, and the snake in turn opened its mouth to reveal a sword.

"Kusanagi," muttered Sarutobi. One of the legendary swords of Konoha, the other being the Raijin-katana. 'That blade is probably poisoned, so I'd better be careful.'

Orochimaru, determined to get to the bottom of why his summoning failed, slashed at Zaku and Kin's back. A gash opened, to reveal a spine and tubes along with a strange liquid. "They're… They're corpse dolls!"

That pissed him off to no end. Wielding his sword, he stepped over the corpse dolls, and said, "I'm going to kill you, Sarutobi-sensei, and then I'm going to destroy Konoha."

Readying himself, Sarutobi said, "You can try, Orochimaru. You can try."

vvvvvvvvvvv

"Enough talk," growled Hachi. "Time for you to die, Uzumaki. And what say you all?" said he to the others. "Will you stand and fight, or will you flee to join the villagers?"

That was a tough question, at least to some of the Genin. Naruto had kept the fact that he had the Kyuubi a secret, but this apparently insane Genin from Kumo was out for blood.

"I'm staying with Naruto-kun," said Hinata. He gazed at Hachi confidently. "I don't care about the Kyuubi. He is still Naruto-kun."

Sakura was indignant. "But Hinata…"

"As far as I know," interrupted Shino, "As long as the Kyuubi is in Uzumaki, it cannot destroy us. Therefore, he is a true Shinobi of Konoha, and I shall stand by him."

"You all talk too much," growled Hachi. "Prepare to die." With that, he rushed them, intent on killing Sakura first, simply because she was a pink-haired slut of a shinobi, at least in his opinion.

Sakura saw the claws on Hachi as he came at her, his intent to kill obvious. She saw her life flash before her eyes: A younger Ino and herself, the Academy years, Naruto when he seemed so carefree, and her dream… Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the end.

She was drawn out of her thoughts of the end when there was a thud and opened her eyes to see Naruto blocking Hachi's claws with his hand. Blood dripped from his hand, and she knew he was pierced. "Why did you…"

"… Save her?" growled Hachi.

Naruto grinned that foxy grin of his and said, "I'm gonna be Hokage. And a Hokage wouldn't let his precious people die, would he?"

At last, everyone now saw the true Naruto; one that was willing to die for those he cared for. One who would do anything for his loved ones.

That clinched it. "Naruto…" said Sakura. And she punched Hachi in the face, knocking the Jinchuuriki backwards.

Shikamaru grinned. "Now I'm normally not like this… but I want to help in anyway possible." And the others voiced their aid as well.

Naruto was stunned. They still saw him for him. "You guys…"

"Are going to die. **Very, very ssslowly,**" growled Hachi as he clapped his hands together. "Eat this!!" He then did the same jutsu he did when he killed Zaku. "Raiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (11A)!!" he roared, thrusting his hands out. When he did so, a bolt of raw lightening shot forth and he aimed it and the Genin.

They were able to dodge for the most part. From behind him, Temari yelled, "Kamaitachi!!" , kicking up a whirlwind that slammed into Hachi and tossed him in the air.

Undaunted, Hachi inhaled, then exhaled, yelling "Katon: Karyuiki no Jutsu!!" The fire he shot out of his mouth merged with the whirlwind Temari had created to create a twister of fire. The heat was intense, and they shielded their eyes from the heat and sudden light.

"Kamaitichi!!" yelled Temari again, and the wave that she sent at the fan blew out the fiery twister. What she didn't expect was Hachi flying down, and kicking her into a wall. She hit the wall with a resounding thud and slid to the ground.

Kankurou sent Kurasu at Hachi, only to have thrust forward his hands and shout "Raiton: Rairyusou no Jutsu (12A)!!" From Hachi's fingertips shot forth little dragon heads made of lightening. When they struck Kankurou, they arced around his body, knocking him blissfully unconscious.

Hachi turned around and tried to rush the other Genin, but he found himself immobilized. "Kage Mane no Jutsu… success!" said Shikamaru. "Ino, now!"

"Okay, Shintenshin no Jutsu!" yelled Ino, her hands in the Bird Seal. Her body slumped forward as her mind left it, and entered Hachi's body. Her body was caught by Chouji, who then said, "Do you think she'll be okay?"

vvvvvvvvv

_When she arrived, she opened her eyes. As far as she could see, which wasn't much in the dull light, she saw stone walls, with the occasional staircase going up or down. On a whim, she took a staircase that went down._

_She regretted that decision a minute later._

_The staircase led to a large room that had dull lights on the walls, and a large flickering one in the corner. This room gave off the aura one feels when they know that something bad is going to happen._

"_**Hello small mammal**."_

_Ino spun around to see a huge golden eye before her, before a long forked tongue snaked out and wrapped around her waist. She struggled against it, and then she saw the gaping maw of the creature in the darkness. Putting her hands together, she screamed, "KAI!!"_

vvvvvvvvvv

Ino snapped her eyes open, and clutching Chouji in terror. "He's not human," she whispered. "He's not human… he's not human…"

"Damn," said Shikamaru glancing at his blonde teammate. At that moment, his shadow withdrew from Hachi, and he knew that they were in deep shit. "Kiba!!"

Hachi knew it too, but that didn't keep him from opening his mouth and shooting off a Karyuiki at Shikamaru. He was understandably disappointed that it didn't hit when Neji jumped in the way and did the Kaiten. He was about to do the Doragon Taiho, when he heard a feminine voice say, "You are in the range of my divination."

Hachi was surprised that he had been caught by Hyuuga Hinata. From what he had heard, she was the most passive of the current Hyuuga out there. But he still got himself hit as he took blow after blow, until Hinata yelled, "Rokujuuyonshou!!"

Thrust backwards, he slowly stood to his feet, growling. But it didn't stop there. He was thrust into the air by Kage Bunshin, and he had blow after blow rained down on him, until finally… "Naruto Rendan!!"

That blow forced him to the ground, where Inuzuka Kiba was waiting. "Gatsuuga!!" yelled Kiba as he spun and thrust Hachi against a wall.

Sasuke jumped in, did the required seals, then exhaled, yelling, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" The Grand Fireball hit Hachi at close range, shot him through the wall to the other side. It was here that a greater part of the wall fell, raising up dust and smoke.

"He shouldn't get up from that," said Chouji, still holding Ino.

Everyone's thoughts on that matter were cut short when the side of the building exploded, releasing a yellow chakra pulse. It rooted everyone where they stood, as it felt incredibly evil.

Out of the settling dust, a hand made itself visible. But not a human hand.

This hand was large, and reptilian. There were inch-long claws coming from the fingertips. Then the arm belonging to the hand came out. The arm was reptilian as well, and the forearm was larger than the part of the arm connected to the shoulder. In addition, an horny spike came from the elbow.

Then the dust cleared, to reveal the form of Ryunosuke Hachi. Or what used to be Hachi. His right arm was the reptilian one, and his left foot had burst from its confines to be a four-toed reptilian foot that forced him to stand from the toes, and a toe claw extended from his heel.

A long reptilian tail came from the seam of his pants, and two bat-like wings extended from his back. In addition, his fingernails and toenails extended into claws. But it was his head that got the most attention.

The right side of his face was normal, not counting his crest, but the left side was like something from a nightmare. The crest on his left side had turned into something akin to webbed fingers with claws (only two of the fingers), and his left ear had become more finlike, like dragon's ear. His mouth had razor-sharp teeth jutting from the left side, and he from an eyebrow that had become bushy, like a dragon's. But his eye, his eye had become more like that of a Bijuu; the area that was once white had become a dark red, so red it was nearly black, and his eye was a sulfuric yellow with the slitted pupil, radiating bloodlust.

He grabbed the closest person to him with his draconic arm, who happened to be Sakura. She struggled, but he kept an iron grip on the front of her dress. When she was in front of him, he took his clawed human finger, and cut open her dress, revealing her perfect flat belly.

"Do you know," said Hachi, his voice a mix between his own and an ancient entity, "that the most **delectable** part of man… is their stomach region…?" With that, he opened his mouth, revealing the dragon's teeth of his left side and the human teeth with fangs on the right side and thrust forward…

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Translations:

(1) ototo – little brother

(2) Rokubi no Raiju – The six-tailed Beast. Said to be either a tiger, weasel, or a combination of the two. Claimed to be the servant of the Shinto lightening god, Raijin, and known for hiding in people's belly buttons.

(3) Hachibi no Ryu – The eight-tailed dragon. Given name is Hachimata, which means "Eight Tail" in Japanese. Said to be a terrifying beast that could only be beaten by the Kyuubi no Yoko, or Ryujin, the Shinto dragon god of the sea.

(1A) Raiton: Moutouryu no Jutsu – Lightening Release: Double-headed Dragon Technique. User send a two-headed dragon made of lightening at the target.

(2A) Katon: Karyuiki no Jutsu – Fire Release: Fire Dragon Breath Technique. Similar in nature to Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu, but about the strength of Goukakyuu and does not require wires or chakra strings.

(3A) Raiton: Rairyuiki no Jutsu – Lightening Release: Lightening Dragon Breath Technique. Similar to Karyuiki no Jutsu, except the user shoots lightening from their mouth instead of fire.

(4A) Raiton: Rairyutsui no Jutsu – Lightening Release: Lightening Dragon Hammer Technique. User concentrates chakra into a fist and converts it to lightening. Then the user strikes the target to deliver a blow that possibly break whatever it strikes, while sending a wave of electricity as well.

(5A) Doton: Doroku Gaeshi – Earth Release: Earth Shore Return. After striking the ground with their hands, the user creates a large wall of earth that rises into place as defense. The defense is not perfect though, since a hard or drilling impact can puncture the wall.

(6A) Kibaku Kage Bunshin – Exploding Shadow Clone. The user creates Kage Bunshins, and then can detonate them at will, possibly killing the target, or inflicting serious harm. Another name for this technique in Kage Bunshin Daibakuha (Shadow Clone Great Explosion).

(7A) Nehan Shouja no Jutsu – Temple of Nirvana Technique. This jutsu causes everyone within a specific area to fall into a deep sleep. From the target's point of view, it seems as if feathers are falling from the sky, which serves as a distraction to allow the jutsu to take effect. The downside, however, is that it takes a fair amount of time to take effect, and any experienced ninja has more than enough time to dispel it.

(8A) Raiton: Doragon Taiho – Lightening Release: Dragon World Order. The user charges up their chakra, then in a massive outburst, converts it to lightening in the form of a massive shockwave/energy dome. If the user uses all their chakra, then they will more than likely die, but in the process, cause insane amounts of damage.

(9A) Shishienjin – Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment. This jutsu creates a box-like barrier around an area defined by the four users of it. Anything that touches the barrier will burst into purple flame. As long as the users of the jutsu remain active and unharmed, this barrier can never be broken. In addition to the outside barrier, the Sound Four were also able to create an additional inner barrier around themselves, thus ensuring that the barrier would never be unwillingly broken. Those using the technique seem to be able to touch the barrier with no problem.

(10A) Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei – Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation. The user is able to resurrect the dead with this technique, but certain conditions must be met. First, the user has to kill someone in order to tie the target summoning's soul to the earth. Secondly, the person killed for this technique has to outwardly resemble the person the user is trying to summon.

(11A) Raiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – Lightening Release: Grand Waterfall Technique. Essentially a lightening version of Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu.

(12A) Raiton: Rairyusou no Jutsu – Lightening Release: Lightening Dragon Nest Technique. The user shoots lightening from their fingertips in the shape of a dragon (for each finger). This jutsu requires excellent chakra control to perform, for distance and power.

_Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: _Hachi has at last revealed part of his true self and wages war with the Konoha Genin. And if that's not bad enough, he ascends even more and kidnaps Hinata! For his own twisted purposes, or for a meal… who knows!? Hurry Naruto!! Hinata and the village are counting on you!! Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: Rise of the Dragon! The True Face of Hachi!!

Ha! Cliffie at the end! Now what should happen to Sakura? Should she die, or should she live? Will Hachi eat her, or will she be saved by the unlikeliest of the Genin? I'm still thinking it over, but I've got a fair idea of what I should do. But I want to hear your opinions. Keep those reviews coming, so you can see what happens next, and so I can try to improve on my writing.

((gets struck by lightening))

Damn you, lightening! You striketh me for the last time! ((Rai Shunshin no Jutsu))


	8. Rise of the Dragon! True Face of Hachi!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Again, not really much to say, except thanks for all the reviews. The fight against Hachi continues, and things will pretty much be harder than the Gaara fight in the anime/manga. And I should have clarified this, but when I said Hachi's ear was fin-like, I meant something close to Kyuubi's ear.

On another note, I'm amazed no one commented on the Corpse Dolls. I mean, isn't it significant that Orochimaru can't summon the First and/or Second Hokage? Eh… enough of that.

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**_Blah_**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

_**Answer to reviews:**_

**Tellemicus Sundance:** When the occasion calls for it, Hinata can be as lethal as a lioness staking her claim. It's just that being with the one you deeply care for varies from person-to-person. An example is the fic _Shadow Leaf Dance_ on But that aside, Hinata can be aggressive when she's serious. In addition, I define the eight-headed serpent as Yamata no Orochi, another entity entirely. Just thought you ought to know!

**Samael the Desolate One:** Well, it's a good quote, so I don't care if it's irrelevant. And in regards to Sakura… depending on what you read or see, she can be eye-candy or not. More the often, it's the latter… unless you're bored and decide to look at Naruto Hentai… though I'd extremely confused why you would… unless… Ero-Sennin!! ERO-SENNIN!! DAMN YOU JIRAIYA, STOP CORRUPTING MY REVIEWERS!!

**Mystic4 Gohan:** Gaara isn't dead; he's just missing for the time being. He'll show up later. MUCH later.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 8: Rise of the Dragon! The True Face of Hachi!!

Kakashi was concerned for his team, as was Kurenai and Asuma. And when the chakra pulse hit them, they stopped fighting momentarily. "Did you feel that?" asked Asuma.

"Hai," said Kakashi. "It felt similar to the Kyuubi… but it felt darker… more evil."

Kurenai glanced at the hole Gai made when he had kicked an Oto-nin through the wall. Seeing the smoke rising in the distance gave her that feeling. You know, the feeling you get knowing that something is happening to the one you care for.

Something bad.

"I just hope the Genin are okay right now," she said, catching a Suna-nin and an Oto-nin in a Genjutsu and slitting their throats.

vvvvvvvvvv

Sakura was prepared for many things. A date for Sasuke, Naruto trying to ask her out, her pummeling him, him saying "Just kidding, Sakura-chan". And right now, her death at the hands, or jaws, of the insane Kumo-nin/Jinchuuriki Ryunosuke Hachi.

She did not expect this.

Hachi's jaws were millimeters away from her stomach, but the Jinchuuriki had stopped. The reason? Uchiha Sasuke, the last of the Uchiha's in Konoha, had a Chidori buried in Hachi's draconic shoulder, and his other arm around Sakura's waist.

One second passed. Two seconds. Then Hachi let out a screeching roar and let go of Sakura, and his human arm flailed wildly, catching Sakura across the stomach, causing three small fine lines that slowly bled.

Naruto didn't see that coming, and neither did the others. He and the rest leapt over to see if Sakura was okay, and he voiced his concern. Only to gape, along with the others at what she did next.

Sakura was pretty much catatonic, until she saw Sasuke looking at her and asking if she was all right. Then she did something that shut him up and everyone else: She grabbed the sides of Sasuke's face and caught him in a full lip-lock.

Sasuke certainly didn't expect that, so his mind went on a temporary shutdown. After about twenty seconds, she separated from him and whispered against his mouth, "Arigatou gozaimasu, Sasuke-kun."

'Didn't see that coming,' thought Shikamaru, referring to the saving of Sakura by Sasuke, and the subsequent full kiss upon said Uchiha by said pink-haired kunoichi. Everyone, though, turned their attention to the snarling Hachi, whose draconic arm was bleeding from the shoulder. Within seconds, the blood that was leaking out ceased, and the wound healed itself amid the crackling of electricity.

"Uchiha…" growled Hachi, his human eye showing veins at the edges of white, "… you've been a pain in my tailed ass for the last time!" With that, he thrust forward his draconic arm, the appendage stretching out to grab Sasuke neck.

Sasuke and the others jumped aside and successfully avoided the projectile, then faced the deranged Kumo-nin. "Sasuke," said Naruto, "this guy has gotta go."

"For once, your right," said Sasuke.

"Okay, then! Let's go!" yelled Chouji, slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"You seem eager," said Shikamaru.

"Yeah," said Chouji a little sheepishly. "I really feel like fighting him, for some reason. And…" he whispered this last part to his best friend, "… I really wanna make him pay for hurting Ino's mind."

Shikamaru was about to ask his friend how in the hell he got that last part of that sentence in his head, but he was cut off by Hachi yelling, "If you all are so eager to die… then die!!" And then Hachi exhaled a massive ball of fire.

Sasuke and Naruto quickly did the required signs, then exhaled, yelling "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" The Grand Fireball Hachi sent was intercepted by Naruto's Grand Fireball, and Sasuke's flew past to engulf Hachi in flames.

Sasuke, who knew that from doing the Chidori already, knew that he wouldn't be able to turn Hachi's Raiton Ninjutsu on him, so he settled for, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (1A)!!" The little fireballs flew into the inferno that was created by the Grand Fireball, and created a nice-sized explosion.

Hachi, however, was not impressed. Spreading his arms spread-eagle, he yelled, "Hijutsu: Karai Ryuiki (2A)!!", and shot a stream of fire from his twisted mouth. Naruto countered with another Grand Fireball, but while the fire cancelled out, the lightening shot through the fire and narrowly missed the blonde, who fell to the ground at seeing the white bolt. The bolt of lightening was then deflected back at Hachi by Neji, who had performed a Kaiten.

Hachi spread his wings and leapt into the air, successfully avoiding the lightening. Flapping them, he then glided down, his half-human half-dragon opening for another shot of either fire or lightening.

He didn't get the chance, as Chouji yelled "Ninpou: Nikudan Hari Sensha (3A)!!" Chouji expanded to the size he would when activating his Baika Jutsu, then pulled in his head, arms, and legs, like his Nikudan Sensha (1). But then, he suddenly had kunai attached to him, and turned from a rolling ball into a rolling mace. He impacted on Hachi, sending the Jinchuuriki backwards.

Hachi landed on his feet, and observed the numerous slashes inflicted on him. Healing them subconsciously, he shouted "Raiton: Byakurai (4A)!!" The moment he finished that phrase, he shot a bolt of raw white lightening from his mouth, the sheer force of it throwing his head upwards. Said bolt completely annihilated a section of the wall behind Temari and Kankurou, who by this time were conscious enough to dodge.

"Kamaitichi!!" yelled Temari, swinging her fan. The blast of wind caught Hachi, and forced him back into the wall, where Neji leaped into action. "Nishou… Yonshou… Hachishou… Juurokushou… Sanjuunishou… Rokujuuyonshou!!" With the final cry, Neji thrust Hachi up into the air, where Sasuke jumped into the air, turned on his side, and caught Hachi across the ribs, yelling "Shishi Rendan!!"

Hachi impacted on the ground, but it wasn't over yet. He was again thrust into the air, this time by one Uzumaki Naruto, who rained the righteous justice of his Uzumaki Naruto Rendan upon the insane Kumo-nin.

Despite having his tenketsu sealed, and being in massive amounts of pain, Hachi still got up from the attack, and was immediately faced with the threat of Hinata. Said Hyuuga performed, for the second time that day, Hakkeshou Rokujuuyonshou. At the final strike, Hachi was thrust upwards, and he landed on the roof of a building. Staggering to his feet, he yelled, "Is that all… you got!?"

"Just die, damn you!" yelled Naruto, as he leapt into the air and pulled out a kunai with an orange slip of paper on it. He flew at Hachi, who swiped at him with his draconic arm, narrowly missing the blonde Jinchuuriki. Naruto appeared behind him, saying, "Behold, the Ultimate Taijutsu Technique of Konoha…" He finished by shoving the kunai into the area below the base of Hachi's tail: his ass.

"SENNIN GEROSHI!!"

Blink.

Blink.

Massive sweat-drop. "A kanchou?" muttered Kankurou. Sasuke and Sakura couldn't believe the stupidity of their teammate. Even Hinata was somewhat discouraged.

Hachi, on the other hand, glanced behind and down at the blonde who had shoved a kunai up his tailed ass. With a snarl, he slapped Naruto away from behind him with his tail. Naruto, falling to the ground, grinned and muttered, "Boom."

Upon hearing the blonde, Hachi glanced down at the kunai. With his human eye, he saw two orange tags unfurl themselves from around the handle, and said eye had its pupil shrink in shock. "… Shit."

The first exploding tag went off, engulfing Hachi in flames, and setting off the second one, which demolished a part of the roof that Hachi stood on.

Sasuke blocked Naruto's fall with his body, and the two fell to the ground. Covering her eyes, Ino commented, "That was actually a pretty good move."

As the smoke began to clear, Sakura asked, "Is he dead?" When the smoke completely cleared, they saw that Hachi was not dead. But he was pretty messed up.

His draconic ear was drooping badly, and his wings were tattered and nearly falling off his back. His human arm was bleeding badly, and his tail was bleeding electricity. His draconic arm was now hanging off his shoulder, and bleeding blood and electricity. 'I didn't expect him to target the base of my tail… It has done considerable damage. I can't use my wings, and I'm losing blood fast…' With that, Hachi knew what he had to do.

Sasuke had just done the seals for the Grand Fireball, but stopped midway when Hachi started to twist and contort himself. Hachi leaned forward from the contortions, and grinned maniacally, his eyes slightly pointing in opposite directions. "Kekeke… What can you hope to do… against the son of the Dragon's Teeth?"

With that, he began to descend into his Jinchuuriki form even more. His wings and tail repaired themselves, as did his arm. The human side of his face began to shine with a poisonous yellow light, and his sandaled right foot burst from its prison to become a replica of its partner. With a loud roar, he gave off another chakra pulse, blinding everyone present.

When the light died down, everyone glanced at the Kumo-nin, only to wish that they hadn't.

Hachi's head had gone even more draconic. The right side of his face mimicked the left side; the webbed crest, the bushy dragon eyebrows, the fin-like ears, the dark red and yellow eyes with slitted pupils; with additions: He still kept a human nose, but beneath it, a spiky mustache in the form of the Asian Dragon whiskers shown proudly. They did not droop, but stuck out on the sides like a Bo staff held by hands with the knuckles up. His upper jaw jutted out slightly, but his lower jaw extended drastically, resembling a dragon's jaw, with both jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth. With the Asian Dragon beard, in the form of a three-pointed beard.

His human arm had turned into a replica of the other, as had his foot. On his chest, the reptilian plating stood out, and his wings were healed. In addition, he grew two more tails slightly below the one already there. All three tails were slightly longer, and all three tails had a wickedly curved spike that resembled the claw of a velociraptor. And the draconic parts of his body took on a slight olive green tone.

Hachi was no longer Ryunosuke Hachi, the Jinchuuriki. He had descended himself to become Sanbi no Hachimata-Hachi (**R1**); the envoy of the Hachibi, and the half-dragon of destruction

Hachi roared, a terrifying sounding that sounded like a tiger's roar mixed with a reptilian screech.

Everyone present was too shocked to speak, so Naruto voiced the word on their minds: "Fuck."

vvvvvvvvvv

Over in the stadium, Kurenai stiffened. There was that chakra pulse again, but it was a little stronger than before.

"What the hell is going on?" muttered Asuma, slashing at a Suna-nin with his trench-knives.

Over at the bottom of the stairs, Baki and Buki looked to the sky. They had felt it too, and Baki could only compare it to Shukaku, when it had last come out. 'Gaara… Temari… Kankurou… stop horsing around. We need you.'

"What do you think that was?" asked Buki.

"I don't know," said Baki. "And I would rather not know."

vvvvvvvvv

Elsewhere, Ibiki Morino narrowed his eyes. That chakra… it was like a bad dream all over again. The Chuunin beside him panicked, and said, "Ibiki-sama, did you feel that?"

"Yeah," said Ibiki. "It felt like the Kyuubi."

"I knew it, I knew it!!" said the Chuunin, his eyes wide. "We should have killed the Kyuubi brat when we had the chance! Now it's coming for us!!"

"No."

"B-but, Ibiki-sama!!"

"Uzumaki Naruto is anything but the Kyuubi. And to kill him would be an insult to Yondaime-sama's memory. Plus," he added, "this felt more… more… bloodthirsty. I hope that this doesn't mean what I think it means…"

The Chuunin didn't want to answer, he only watched as the Kyodaija continued towards the village.

vvvvvvvvvv

Hachi twitched his three tails, and grinned down at the Genin below. Or as well as a dragon could. "The next step… **in your annihilation!!**" he roared, slapping his massive draconic hands to his chest. "But I don't want to kill you yet… **I want you to despair… I want you to suffer!!**"

Sasuke regained his voice first. "We are suffering… you're still here!!"

Hachi snorted and replied, "Witty to the end, eh, Uchiha? **But I want to make you suffer the most, Uzumaki. By stealing your treasure…**"

"I have no treasure," snarled Naruto. "Whatever I have of value, those damn villagers destroy!"

Hachi next words chilled everyone to the core: "**Not all treasure is material possessions.**"

Naruto was about to ask what the hell he was talking about, when he caught Hachi glancing off to Naruto's left. He then subconsciously felt Hinata clutch him and then…

"Oh, no," he whispered. "Oh, dear god, no…"

"**Yeeeesssss…**" hissed Hachi as he crouched. He was going to take the one thing Naruto treasured above all else at the moment.

"Hinata, move!!" said Naruto as he leapt in front of her, as she realized what Hachi meant. At the same time, Hachi appeared in front of Naruto, his jaws open.

A flash of light, and Hachi sent a lightening bolt from his mouth that smacked into Naruto and plowed him into a wall. He then whispered, "**Uchiha…**", and promptly spun around, charging his draconic right fist with a Lightening Dragon Hammer, and let loose.

Everyone heard the sound of the impact. The impact of Hachi's lightening-charged fist slamming into Sasuke's sternum. It sounded like a thunderclap, and the lightening discharged, sending Sasuke flying into the remains of the wall Hachi had emerged from when he appeared as the Ichibi no Hachimata-Hachi.

"Sasuke-kun!!" yelled Sakura in shock. But Hachi wasn't through yet. He let loose a lightening wave that shocked everyone into unconsciousness. Chuckling, he extended his right tail to wrap around Hinata's prone form, and took to the air. "Light as a feather," he growled.

At that point, he was assaulted by a memory. Him watching Naruto fight Neji, he glanced off into the crowd, he saw Hinata, he saw Kakashi, he saw the Hyuuga leader and a small Hyuuga girl…

A mad grin spread across his terrifying face. "**We can force her natural age farther… We can accelerate her aging… Yess… perfect… The strongest of the Leaf… the perfect brides of the Dragon…**"

With that twisted thought in mind, he flapped his wings and flew towards the center of Konoha.

vvvvvvvvvvv

Hiashi glared at the Suna-nin and Oto-nin coming at him. With the Byakugan activated, he thrust his palms forward, hitting both shinobi in the heart. When more came at him from all sides, he performed the Kaiten, sending them flying. He grunted as he stopped in the crater his Kaiten made, and leapt out of it to the front of the Hyuuga Compound.

Inside the Hyuuga compound, Hanabi watched as a Hyuuga elder handily took care of a Oto-nin that snuck into the compound. "Be warned, ruffian," said the elder haughtily to the corpse on the floor. "The Hyuuga is the strongest of the Leaf."

"**Well then… How about… Tobikiri no Saikyo tai Saikyo **(2)"

The elder didn't get the chance to find out where that voice came from before he felt a searing pain in his back and chest. Looking down, he saw the end of a tail poking out of his chest, where it had entered his back. Coughing up blood, he hesitantly looked up, to see a grinning demonic face.

"Himori-sama!!" cried Hanabi as she saw the elder beside her get dragged up to the ceiling, and looked up to see the body fall to the ground. Hachi landed in front of her, and grinning, a frightening look in her eyes, and reached out for her with his draconic hands, growling like a tiger that had cornered its prey.

vvvvvvvvvv

When Neji came to, he looked around to see that Hachi, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke were gone. He shook his head. Hachi was a monster, and he had taken his baby cousin. His baby cousin who was apparently the girlfriend of the Jinchuuriki of Konoha.

Neji cursed. He'd worry about Hinata's love life later. Right now, he had to…

He turned his head at the groaning of Sakura, who stood up shakily, followed by Kiba, Ino, Chouji, Shino, Shikamaru, and the Suna-nin.

Shino shook his head, feeling sorry for being so useless in this battle. "Where's Hinata-san?"

"That dragon-bastard took her," growled Neji.

"I'll gut him myself!!" snarled Kiba. But their thoughts were short at Sakura's cry of "Sasuke-kun!!"

She, Ino, and Chouji were removing the rubble that Sasuke was buried under. When they revealed his face, he had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and coughed up more. His eyes flickered open, and he whispered, "Sa-Sakura…?"

Sakura felt tears in her eyes, and soon uncovered his upper body. "S-Sasuke-kun… please…"

Sasuke chuckled, then coughed again. "This… is… some… screwed up shit. I'm not… supposed to die… until I kill Itachi… and rebuild my clan…" Another cough. "S-Sakura… if we had more time… I might have… taken you up… on your offer… eventually…"

Sakura smiled sadly, tears still steaming down her eyes. She held Sasuke's head in her lap, whispered, "It's going to be okay, Sasuke-kun… W-we'll get you out, and get someone to heal you…"

"Heh…" chuckled Sasuke, closing his eyes, and grasping Sakura's hand in his. "You've got… more important matters… to attend to. Tell Kakashi-sensei… what happened here… And tell the dobe… that I considered him… my bro… ther… and that… I'll see… him… again…"

With that, Sasuke softly exhaled, and lay still. His hand went limp, and Sakura still held him, crying softly now, with Ino crying into Chouji's chest, while he sadly held her. They knew. Shinobi rules be damned, they knew.

Uchiha Sasuke was dead.

Shino glanced over at the three, and spoke softly to Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji, who were digging in the rubble for Naruto where he fell. "Uchiha Sasuke has passed on."

That made them stiffen. Sasuke was dead? But he was the last Uchiha. He…

"You fuckin' bastard!!" shouted Kiba to the sky. "Hachi, you fuckin' bastard!!"

Then they heard a groan, and Shikamaru and Neji pulled more rocks to reveal Naruto. Pulling him out of the rubble, they helped him to his feet, and they went over to the others.

"Sa-Sakura-chan…" said Naruto, before Sakura latched onto him and cried into his torn vest. Wincing in pain, he saw the reason why: His teammate wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing.

He wasn't alive.

He held her to him, letting her sob into his vest. Soon, his sorrow turned into rage, and he felt the familiar surge that came with using the Kyuubi's chakra. "Where… is he?" he growled.

Neji shook his head. "He took you both out, then he took us out, and then, he took Hinata-sama and left."

"Before I passed out," said Kankurou, "I saw him head that way." He pointed to the direction of the Hokage Tower.

Naruto nodded, and let Sakura go. "Shino… get them to the stadium. I'm going after Hachi."

Shino stopped Kiba from yelling, and nodded.

Naruto turned to the direction Hachi flew, his rage at Hachi, at Kumo, and at himself boiling over. 'Yoko, you know what to do.'

"**Okay,**" said the Kyuubi, dripping bloodlust. "**I wanted to have another go at that dragon anyways.**"

Naruto dropped to all fours, and let the Kyuubi chakra take him. In front of those watching, the chakra took on the form of a fox, and shone red, before outlining Naruto. "This is new," he said, hunching over, flexing his chakra tail and new claws. "I will kill him, for Sasuke, and get Hinata-chan back."

With that, he took off, like a hound of hell, towards the new bane of his existence. And the others followed soon after, with Sakura lingering behind, placing a final kiss on the cooling lips of her beloved.

vvvvvvvvvvv

Hyuuga Hiashi had just taken care of a bunch of Oto-nin, when he heard the smashing of wood behind him. He looked up just in time to see Hyuuga Himori's corpse fall in front of him, the stomach torn open and a hole in his chest. He then heard the demonic roar, and saw the flying Hachi depart.

"Hanabi!!" He saw his youngest daughter, no, both daughters, wrapped by the tails of that demon. "Hinata!!" His fatherly duties made him see that in neglecting his eldest in favor of his youngest, he was about to lose both of them. He saw that the flying Hachi was heading towards the stadium, and he wanted to go, to get his daughters back.

And yet, these relentless bastards kept coming!

vvvvvvvvvvv

"Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu (5A)!!" came a voice, and a giant toad with two hilt-less katana's on its back slammed down on the Kyodaija, causing the snakes to shriek and disappear in a cloud of smoke. "Behold, ladies and foes beware, it is I, the Gama-Sennin of Mt. Myouboku, the one and only, Jiraiya, Lover of Women!!"

Said Sannin appeared on the head of the toad, with Ibiki, his Chuunin companion, and two giant snakes gazing at him with awe… mainly out of being stunned into stupidity.

'Orochimaru,' thought Jiraiya, glancing at the violet prison at the arena, where he knew his sensei and former teammate to be in. 'What the hell are you doing?'

He was about to greet Ibiki, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Glancing that way, he saw what looked like a giant bat flying towards the arena.

"Jiraiya-sama!!" yelled Ibiki, as he and the nameless Chuunin joined Jiraiya. "Did you see it?"

"Yeah. What was it?"

"I don't know," said the Chuunin, stunned that he was this close to one of the Densetsu no Sannin (3). "All I know is that Ibiki-sama says that it felt like the Kyuubi."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. That wouldn't go over well. But he couldn't do anything right now. "Well, right now, he have to stem the invasion." Then he saw a figure of red in the distance, and knew from the feel of the chakra that it was Naruto. He saw Naruto heading towards the arena, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, and assumed that he was chasing that bat-thing.

"Godspeed, Naruto."

vvvvvvvvvv

Kakashi had fried a Suna-nin and glanced down at Baki and Buki in his ANBU disguised, when he heard a yell. He and Kurenai glanced to their sides as an Oto-nin was thrown through the hole in the wall that Gai made. The Oto-nin rolled down the stairs, and hit the low wall at the end, with Baki and Buki jumping out of the wall to avoid the shinobi.

Kurenai was about to look through when at looked like a mixed between a winged dragon and a human (this is Hachi) flew through the hole and landed right next to the Oto-nin on all fours.

"What the hell is that?" said Asuma, his cigarette dropping from his mouth.

The Oto-nin scrambled to get away, but the dragon-advanced Hachi opened his draconic jaws, snarling, and latched his jaws on the Oto-nin's arm. The shinobi screamed, it growing higher in pitch, until Hachi pulled the Oto-nin's arm completely off the socket, with tendons and muscles trailing and detaching. The arm off the body, Hachi swing his head sideways, causing blood to fly.

Behind his mask, Buki felt his eyes widen. He didn't expect something like this to happen. And, he assumed, neither did Baki, who had gone pale, despite being a seasoned shinobi.

Hachi wasn't done with the Oto-nin, yet. He fell upon the nin's midsection, and tore apart his tunic, shredding the flesh below it with his teeth. The Oto-nin stopped screaming, and started coughing up great gouts of dark red blood when Hachi tore open his throat with his claws.

Kurenai was growing sick with the amount of blood the Oto-nin was loosing. But then she saw what she should've seen at first: An unconscious Hinata, and her little sister Hanabi, each wrapped in a dragon's tail. So she decided that she'd kill two birds with one stone: Rescue the Hyuuga sisters, and kill the demon that had them.

'Like I'd be able to kill that thing,' she thought bitterly, putting her hands in the Ram Seal. She vanished from view, and Kakashi and Asuma knew what she was doing.

Hachi soon found himself bound by a tree; it dragged him upwards and bound his arms at his sides, away from his mauled and dying meal. But in the mindset of a wild beast, he twitched his head up to glare at the appearing Kurenai, who had a kunai brandished. 'Magen: Jubaku Satsu (6A)… Success!!' she thought.

She was wrong.

She was yanked from her spot by Hachi's free third tail, and it pulled her to the ground. Her Genjutsu dispelled, she was now staring into the eyes of death, and Hachi growled, and reached for her with a massive draconic hand.

"Dynamic Entry!!" came Gai's voice, and Hachi saw him come at him. Snarling, he jumped into the air, taking Hinata, Hanabi, and the dying Oto-nin with him. Then he disappeared from sight.

Gai was helping Kurenai up. "Are you all right, Kurenai-san?"

"Yeah, for the most part," she said. Turning around, she narrowed her eyes and said, "I can't say the same for you… Buki-san."

Buki was silent, but removed his mask. "How could you tell Kurenai-chan?"

"Everyone was talking about how a Konoha shinobi became a traitor to battle. Naturally, your war-loving hide came to mind," she said, taking out a kunai.

Buki was about to do the same, when they heard a roar. Looking in the direction it came from, they saw the draconic Hachi, scaling the wall on the opposite end, with Hinata, Hanabi, and the nameless Oto-nin in tow.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" yelled Kakashi as he sent the Grand Fireball towards Hachi.

Hachi turned his head, snarled at the Fireball that was closing in, and leapt off the wall to the ledge of the Kage's box .

vvvvvvvvvv

Tayuya, Hokumon (4) of the Sound Four, watched as Orocjimaru-sama battle the Sandaime Hokage in a swordfight. It was Orochimaru-sama's Kusanagi verses the Sandaime's Adamantine Staff. 'That old fart will die for sure,' she thought.

She, along with her teammates Sakon, Ukon, Kidoumaru, and Jiroubu, were cast out of their thoughts by the sound of breaking tiles. They looked to see the monster that was Hachi, that snarled at the ANBU watching.

Orochimaru and Sarutobi stopped fighting to see the monster that used to be Hachi. "What in god's creation is that?" muttered Orochimaru.

The ANBU watching were stunned to see the glaring Hachi, and even more so, the Oto-nin at the crouched Hachi's draconic feet. The Oto-nin, still alive miraculously, weakly reached out with his remaining arm, large amounts of blood streaming from his mouth. Tightening his grip on the Oto-nin's head, Hachi lowered his head, and latched his draconic jaws around the hapless nin's neck.

Tayuya, who had never seen a creature like the one before her outside the violet wall, let alone a Jinchuuriki, winced at the sound of crunching bone. "What… the… fuck?" she muttered, as Hachi lifted his head up sharply, pulling up the neck of the Oto-nin with him. The gout of blood that followed rose up and landed across from the ANBU, and some hit the violet wall, causing it to hiss and steam. Then he threw the severed head at the ANBU.

When they saw the head land at their feet, one of the ANBU leaned to the side, lifted his mask at the mouth, and promptly vomited, spewing his breakfast on the sloped roof. The other said, "… Shit. We're gonna need serious back-up."

Ignoring the people staring, Hachi tore the headless Oto-nin to pieces. Blood and body parts flew everywhere, and blood dripped from Hachi's teeth as he tore the flesh from the Oto-nin's body.

"Jeezus," said Kidoumaru, going green. He didn't know that the human body could bleed that much, and he like to play around with his victims before he killed them.

Sarutobi was shocked by the carnage that went on. Luckily for him, Orochimaru was mesmerized, too. 'What is that thing?' thought the Hebi-Sennin. Then he saw the two girls, and narrowed his eyes. 'Why does that thing have the two daughters of the Hyuuga Head?'

At this point, Hachi was sick of people watching him, so he turned his head all the way around like an owl, opened his bloody jaws, and roared, sending a Byakurai attack as well. The attack slammed into the violet wall, and before their surprised eyes, the section of the wall cracked, and finally exploded inwards, creating a hole three feet in diameter. The lightening attack traveled to the other side of the wall, where it dispersed.

"I-impossible!!" stuttered Sakon, his visible eye widening. No one can penetrate the Shishienjin! No one!!"

"Well…" growled Hachi, his voice a fusion between his own and the dragon within. "You've never met** me now… Have you?**" Turning his head around again and facing Orochimaru, he grinned again, one that made Orochimaru grimace. "I see… you've fallen… **for the Corpse Dolls**…"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "And how would you know…" Then it hit him. "You-you're that Kumo-nin that was fighting Uzumaki!!"

Sarutobi flinched. This was a bad situation that had gone even worse now. "So… you're a Jinchuuriki, too…"

Hachi chuckled, but turned his head at the sound of someone yelling his name. He grinned and said, "Ah… Uzumaki. **How nice of you to join ussss**…"

Uzumaki Naruto stood behind the two ANBU, in Ichibi no Kyuubi-Naruto (**R2**) form. His whiskers marks were wilder, and his canines lengthened into fangs. The tail twitched behind him and he muttered, "If you value your lives, please move to another roof, ANBU-san."

The ANBUs weren't about to argue with a Kyuubified Naruto, so they moved. "You're going to pay for killing Sasuke… and kidnapping Hinata-chan!!" Naruto yelled at Hachi.

Orochimaru couldn't believe his ears. 'The Uchiha is dead? … Sasuke-kun is dead?' The ANBU on the other hand, noticed the unconscious Hyuuga sisters that Hachi had. One tried to go, but his partner held him back. "Do you want to end up like that Oto-nin?"

"He was an obstacle…" said Hachi, twitching his free tail. "… **And obstacles need to be removed**. The strong live and the weak die. And he was **weak**. **Pathetically weak**."

Naruto said nothing, but swiped his hands at Hachi inwards, sending a wave of red at him. 'Kyuubi Wave!!'

Hachi snarled, and jumped into the air, the wave of red passing underneath him and slamming into the wall. "Catch me if you can, Uzumaki!!" he yelled, as he flew away. "But then… you can't fly!! Bahahahahahaa!!!"

Naruto snarled, and took off after the insane Jinchuuriki. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he chased the Kumo-nin, unaware that his beloved was beginning to stir.

vvvvvvvvvv

When Hinata came to, she thought that she was on the back of Gama, Naruto's summon, like she had been earlier. However, the wind through her hair made her think otherwise. Cracking open an eye, she saw that she was in the air, far above the village. Both eyes widen, she then realized that she was bound by a tail.

A dragon's tail.

That clinched it. When she saw her unconscious baby sister next to her, she was terrified for her life. "Hachi-san," she began, trying not to shake her voice, "let me and my sister go."

Hachi looked behind him, his yellow eye boring into hers. "You're awake. Gooood. And why would I do that?"

"We-we have done nothing to you," said she.

"Heh heh heh… and you won't… and neither will…" he trailed off glancing downward. "I guess Uzumaki gave up the chase."

'Naruto-kun?' She glanced downward to saw a red hand race towards her. It grabbed Hachi's free tail and tried pulling him down.

"Kyuubi Hang (**S1**)… success!!" growled Naruto as the indignant Hachi pulled him into the air. Retracting his arm, he found himself racing toward Hachi, and braced for impact.

He collided with Hachi, sending the two to the ground. Hachi maintained control, however, and began his climb back into the sky, while trying to impale Naruto with his elbow spikes.

Naruto had other plans, though. He glanced at Hachi's wings, then at Hinata. She understood, and nodded, distinctly knowing that the next few minutes were, in some way, going to hurt.

Naruto slashed at the membrane on Hachi's wings, causing Hachi to screech in pain and loose altitude. Hachi fly uncontrollably over the village wall, into the forest, crashing through some trees, and finally crash-landed in airplane fashion; head-first, tail(s) up.

Groaning, he lifted his head, only to have a tree limb fall on it, knocking him unconscious with a grunt. His tails loosened around his prisoners, and Hinata pulled Hanabi free.

"Hinata-chan!!" came Naruto's voice, and he appeared from behind another tree, apparently having fallen off during Hachi's impromptu landing. He run over to her, just in time to see Hanabi regain consciousness.

Hanabi held her head, and looked up at her sister. "Onee-san… where-where are we?"

"Outside of Konoha," said Naruto, looking to the wall over in the east. It would actually be easy getting them back to the village if he summoned Gamabunta. Then he'd be able to aid the village, and help push back Suna and Oto. Two more birds with one stone.

Piece of cake.

vvvvvvvvvvv

Iruka and the other instructors of the Ninja Academy escorted the Academy students to the caves at the Hokage Monument. Seeing the smoke rising from the fighting, he was silently grateful for none of the fighting reaching the Academy. 'That would have been a problem,' he thought.

"Iruka-sensei," said Konohamaru. "Do you think Naruto-sousui is okay?"

"I'm sure he is," said Iruka, glancing backwards. 'Stay safe, Naruto,' thought Iruka. 'It would be a shame to see you die. Period.'

vvvvvvvvvvv

Naruto was pulled from his thoughts by a hand pulling his head to the left. He turned to see Hinata kiss him full on the mouth, catching him by surprise, with Hanabi blushing and covering her eyes. "Arigatou, Naruto-kun," said Hinata, when they separated.

Then he felt Hanabi hug him around the waist, and he correctly guessed that she was thanking him, too. "Hey, anything for my precious people. Now what to do about…" he trailed off, upon seeing the spot where Hachi fell empty.

"Crap," he muttered. He picked up Hanabi, and he and Hinata jumped aside to avoid a ball of lightening, that hit the ground where they once stood. The explosion of electricity threw clumps of earth and sparks in the air.

Hachi dropped from the tree, his tail uncurling from around the branch like a monkey's. "You've… caused me **great amounts of sorrow**," he growled, flexing his injured wing, revealing the jagged tear it had. "**I'm temporarily grounded… **but I can use that time to horribly **kill you all**." He held the palms of his hands above each other, and then thrust forward, shooting another ball of lightening.

Which was dodged by our shinobi again. Naruto let Hanabi down, and rushed the enraged Jinchuuriki, who shot out his right hand. Naruto caught it with his, and jumped over it, kicking Hachi in his misshapen face.

Hachi fell backwards, but did a handstand and swept his tails at Naruto, who used his own chakra tail to block it. But Hachi used a clawed foot to catch him in the chest, and knocking him into the trees.

Naruto slammed into the body of a tree, causing leaves to fall. Through the leaves, he saw Hachi hold out his arms, and shoot balls of lightening from them. "Rai-tama (7A)!!" he shouted as the balls of lightening impacted against the tree.

Naruto had successfully leapt from the tree to another, and Hachi turned around to shoot another ball of lightening at him. This one, however, completely missed and caused a tree limb to fall, encompassing Hachi in tree leaves. Naruto watched as Hachi tore free from the leaves, and thought, 'There's got to be a real way to hurt him…' When he saw Hachi tear apart the branch with his tails, he remembered the damage he had done to Hachi before. 'Wait…'

He was pulled from his thought by Hachi roaring at him, and shooting out another Byakurai. He used Kawarimi on a nearby log, and reappeared next to Hinata and Hanabi. "I've got an idea," he said. "More exploding tags."

"But how are you going to prevent him from seeing them?" asked Hinata. "You did it once before, and I doubt that he'll fall for the same trick twice."

"Hurry and think of a way," said Hanabi quickly, brushing a leaf from her hair. "He's coming this way."

Naruto looked around. All these trees were in bad shape from the fighting, and the leaves were everywhere. Everywhere… "I've got an idea," he said. "But it involves me getting smacked around a lot."

Hinata wasn't sure what her boyfriend was planning, but if it worked, then all would be right with the world… at least, until her father found them together. Shrugging that thought aside, she hugged him and whispered, "Be careful, and don't die."

"I won't," Naruto replied, and jumped onto a tree limb, causing Hachi to look up at him. "Hey, Hachi!! If you're so strong, then how'd you get caught!?"

"**What the hell are you doing?**" asked Kyuubi, in his head. "**Are you trying to get us killed?**"

'No, just trying to get him mad,' thought Naruto, watching Hachi's eye flash. "Hey, bread basket for Ryunosuke Hachi!!" he yelled, before spinning around and dropping his pants.

Effectively mooning Hachi.

Hinata covered her sister's eyes and went red out of embarrassment. 'I love him, but he can be such an idiot.' Hanabi, on the other hand, asked, "Is he always like that, Onee-san?"

Hachi, on the other hand, was incensed. He thrust out his hands and opened his mouth, shooting balls of lightening and a Byakurai.

Naruto, seeing them coming, pulled up his pants and performed Kage Bunshin, creating ten of them. Naruto and him Bunshins jumped at Hachi, giving off war cries. Hachi crouched, and spun, causing his tails to hit Naruto and the Bunshins, sending them into the trees. The Bunshins flew through the tree leaves and hit the trees, dissolving in puffs of smoke.

Naruto knew, from what he gathered in his head, that his clones had done their part, and he had to do his. Hitting the tree, he slumped to the ground, but not until he attached a couple exploding tags to some leaves, which began to fall.

Hachi landed in front of him, and grabbed Naruto by the neck. "Dumbass," he hissed, grinning. "**You made your own death wish. And just to spite you…**" he looked to the side, "… I'm gonna have a little fun with your mate and her sister."

Naruto growled, and used his chakra tail to cut into Hachi's draconic hand. Hachi hissed in pain, and dropped him. Naruto jumped in the air, and said "Activate."

Hachi looked at Naruto to see leaves falling around him. The leaves were falling like snow, and glowing, too.

"Wait…" he growled, casting his red and yellow eyes at the leaves, then having them widen as one of the leaves turned over to reveal an exploding tag.

That was when they went off.

Hachi was consumed in an explosion that destroyed the trees surrounding the four, and sent up flames and smoke into the air. Amidst that, Naruto heard Hachi screaming, "Damned Kitsune!!" over and over.

He landed, and dispelled the Kyuubi shell around him. Immediately, he dropped to one knee. "That took a lot more out of me than I thought," he muttered.

"Naruto-kun!!" he heard, and looked up to see Hinata and Hanabi running at him. He stood to his feet, shakily at first, and embraced the two girls. "And that's the end of him," he said, his arms around both girls.

"That was a good move, nii-chan!" said Hanabi, looking up at him.

"Nii-chan?" asked Naruto, looking down. "I'm your brother, now?"

"Hai," said Hanabi. "If it weren't for you, then me and Onee-san would be his slaves." Shivering, she added, "He's a bad guy, and I don't want to serve him."

"Well, he should be dead…" said Naruto, looking at the blazing inferno. 'No one could survive that. No one!'

"**You're not out of the woods yet, both literally and figuratively,**" said the Kyuubi, on guard.

"What?" asked Naruto, but the chakra pulse that hit them revealed his worst vision yet.

Hachi was in bad shape: His wings had their membranes torn, and were probably unusable, and he was bleeding profusely from his mouth and ears. His pants were torn and his arms were burnt, as were his tails. And he had grown a unblemished fourth tail.

"**I will kill you all!!**" he roared, running at them, only to be hit with a Jyuuken, in his chest and stomach. He glared at Hanabi, who had hit his stomach; and Hinata, who had hit his chest. "**There is no point in delaying the inevitable… I was going to let you two live after I destroyed the village… but now, you must die!!**" With that, he slapped Hanabi away, and grabbed Hinata by the throat.

He dropped Hinata as Naruto shoved a kunai with an exploding tag on it in his hand. In the meantime, Hanabi had been rescued from serious harm by a well-timed Kage Bunshin. "You okay, Hanabi-chan?" asked the Bunshin.

Hanabi was unable to answer as the Bunshin, and Naruto with Hinata vacated the premises as the exploding tag went off. They heard Hachi's roar of rage and pain, and they halted at a fissure before them. A careless misstep and an unfortunate rock fell into the darkness of the chasm.

"Long way down," whistled Naruto, as he let Hinata down after carrying her bridal style. The Bunshin did the same to Hanabi, and said, "What now, boss?"

"Hachi's probably mad as hell," said Naruto, "and we're stuck here. I'm already pushing it, even with Yoko helping me."

Hanabi was about to ask who Yoko was, when Hachi landed in front of them with a resounding thud. "**You little shit!!**" he snarled, pointing at Naruto. "**Look what you did to me!!**" He revealed his left hand, which had been mangled by the explosion.

Hinata leapt into action. Something had awoken within her. Whether it was because she remembered that Hachi was going to use her and her little sister as sex slaves, or because she wanted to prove that she wasn't weak, to her father and the Hyuuga Elders.

"Hakkeshou Rokujuuyonshou!!" she shouted, inflicting said blows upon the deranged Kumo-nin/Jinchuuriki. Every time she hit him, she guided him towards the fissure. Hanabi helped out too, by hitting him in his arms and chest after her sister was done, and before Hachi could recover.

Naruto and his Bunshin, seeing how close Hachi was to the edge, performed the necessary seals, and inhaled, then exhaled, yelling, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" The Grand Fireballs collided with Hachi, knocking him backwards, and as he fell into the fissure, he roared, "Damn you Uzumaki!! Damn you Uzumaki!!"

Watching his form disappear into the darkness, Naruto let out a sigh of relief and dispelled his Bunshin. "It's over," he breathed. "Hopefully, that's the last we'll see of him."

Hinata nodded her assent. "Let's go back to the village. They might need our help."

Naruto agreed, when he felt it. "Not again," he groaned, and turned around to see a stream of fire and lightening erupt from the fissure.

Shielding their eyes, they watched as a form appeared, levitating in the center of it all like a reborn demon. "**I give you credit,**" said the terrifying voice of Hachi, his eyes the only things visible, since his body showed as black within the column of fire and lightening. "**You are the first ones to cause me to ascend this far. But now,**" he said, curling up, "**it all… ends… here!!**"

Feeling the waves of chakra he was giving off, Naruto pulled a little of Kyuubi's chakra, performed Kuchiyose no Jutsu, and summoned Gama. "Get on!" he said to Hinata and Hanabi, who immediately climbed on. He put his hands in the Ram Seal, and yelled, "Henge!!" Gama and Naruto disappeared to form a four-tailed yellow fox. "Hold on!!" was what Hinata and Hanabi heard before the fox took off running. And yet they heard Hachi's final cry: "**KUCHIYOSE: GURANDO NONKI POU **(8A)"

By that time, they had reached the walls of Konoha, and leaped over the walls. They sped through the village, just in time to see Jiraiya, Ibiki, and the nameless Chuunin, who shall now be known as Mumei.

When Jiraiya saw the fox stop in front of them, he shifted into a fighting stance and said, "Hold, Kitsune-san. We want no trouble, so you can leave in peace."

"Ero-Sennin, you baka!" came Naruto's voice, and the fox turned back into Naruto and Gama. "It's me!!"

Jiraiya ignored Naruto calling him Ero-Sennin, and raised an eyebrow at the state of his former apprentice. "What happened to you?"

Hinata, who had been helped down by Naruto after Hanabi, bowed and said, "We fought the Kumo-nin Ryunosuke Hachi. He is a Jinchuuriki like Naruto-kun, and has the Hachibi no Ryu within him."

Mumei widened his eyes. "Another demon brat? Where is he!?"

Naruto was about to answer when who showed up; but Kiba, Neji, and Sakura. "Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama," said Neji. "Are you hurt?"

"Iie, Neji-nii-san," said Hinata, shaking her head. "Hanabi-chan, Naruto-kun, and myself managed to injure Hachi badly, but he kept coming back, and we just left him over there," she said, pointing to a distant rise of smoke.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" asked Sakura, looking over her teammate for wounds.

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan," said Naruto, feeling not too comfortable that his female teammate was looking him over. He didn't think that Hinata-chan was the jealous type, but there was no sense in taking unnecessary risks.

"What is he doing?" asked Kiba, no doubt referring to Hachi.

"I don't--" Naruto was cut off by an explosion. But not one in the village. He, Hinata , and Hanabi looked over in the direction that they had recently came.

A black cloud of smoke was rising from the area that had the fissure. Near the bottom of the smoke cloud, in the trees, they could see lightening sparking and crackling, like a thundercloud. And with the cloud came a whooshing, roaring noise.

"What the hell is that?" yelled Jiraiya over the noise.

"I don't know!" yelled Kiba watching as the black cloud rose higher and higher. "But whatever it is, it's got my senses going haywire!"

vvvvvvvvv

The noise reached the Academy Students, and Iruka took it upon himself to see what that was. After making sure that the students were safe, he jumped on the Hokage Monument, onto the head of Sandaime. "What the…" he said, looking at the black cloud. And he could hear that whooshing, roaring noise

"Iruka-sensei, what's that?" yelled Konohamaru as he, Moegi, and Udon appeared.

"What are you doing up here!?" yelled Iruka. "Get back!"

"We need were sent to find you by one of the instructors," yelled Moegi, over the noise.

Iruka decided that it was a fruitless effort trying to get them gone alone, so he answered Konohamaru's question. "I don't know! But it's coming from outside the village!"

vvvvvvvvvv

By now, the cloud was higher in the sky, and Kidoumaru had his ears covered. And he was sure that at least some of the warring nin had stopped fighting. And yet there was that incessant roaring!

The roaring stopped.

All was quiet, except for his own breathing. He noted that Orochimaru-sama and the old Hokage had stopped fighting, and were now warily looking around. "Tayuya?"

"What, Kidoumaru?"

"You ever get that feeling that something where you something really bad's going to happen?"

Tayuya never got to answer. There was a low rumbling, that increased in volume, until…

A massive explosion went off, shattering windows in building, and causing the ANBU watching the six in the barrier to crouch out of instinct. Turning around, they saw a sight that they didn't want to see.

The black smoke cloud gave off another explosion, and this sent a large bolt of raw lightening their way. Sarutobi saw it coming, and spewed mud from his mouth, yelling "Doton: Doryuuheki (9A)!!" A large mud wall rose up, and just in time, too.

The lightening bolt smashed through the Shishienjin, pulverizing the violet walls and killing Sakon, Ukon, and Jirobou. The remaining nin there (the two ANBU, Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Kidoumaru, and Tayuya) gaped in shock at the damage inflicted, then even more so by what came next.

vvvvvvvvvvv

A massive pair of bat-like wings appeared in the smoke, and a massive arm did as well. The massive hand fell into the trees and gripped the earth, pulling whatever was there out.

A massive leg, the leg of a reptile, positioned itself outside of the smoke, and a massive tail appeared out of the smoke.

In the midst of the spreading inky smoke, a pair of yellow eyes flashed to life, and the massive creature pulled itself completely out of the smoke. It lumbered through the short length of forest at it's size, and smashed through the walls that Naruto, Hinata, and Hanabi had gotten over.

And there it stayed. Around the size of the Hokage Monument, it's wings relaxed against it. It had spines going from it's neck down the length of its back, stopping at the trunks of the tails; the eight tails that grew and were now swaying, like a predator's.

It's head got the most attention. A crocodile-like snout, with the Asian Dragon whiskers below the nostrils, and a beard jutting from the lower jaw. The ears were the finlike ones Hachi had, as were the crest on its head. Its eyes were dark red, nearly black, with a yellow iris, and slitted pupils that showed an ancient intelligence, and the gleam of insanity.

It was… IT. The dragon of destruction. The creature of doom.

It was Hachimata, the Hachibi no Ryu.

vvvvvvvvvvv

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" asked Konohamaru, transfixed in horror.

"It would seem that way," said Iruka, his eyes on the giant dragon as well. 'Not again,' he thought. 'Not another one of the Kyuu no Bijuu.'

vvvvvvvvvvv

"It's come out," said Naruto, holding Hinata to him. "So that… is the true face of Hachi. That… is the Ryu no Kumo I heard about earlier."

"Hachimata," whispered Sakura, fear evident on her face. "Hachimata. We're all going to die."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Translations:

(1A) Katon: Housenka no Jutsu – Fire Element: Phoenix Immortal Fire Techinque. This jutsu sends multiple balls of fire at a target. It is also possible to hide shurikens within the fireballs, creating an unexpected secondary surprise attack. For the most part, this jutsu is used as a distraction.

(2A) Hijutsu: Karai Ryuiki – Secret Technique: Fire-Lightening Dragon Breath. The user shoots a stream of fire out of their mouth, with lightening in the center of the fire, to deliver a double attack.

(3A) Ninpou: Nikudan Hari Sensha – Ninja Art: Spiked Human Bullet Tank. This jutsu is basically the same as the Human Bullet Tank, but Chouji wraps himself in kunai tied to strings to make it more damaging. The kunai also make him move faster since Chouji has more traction than in his normal ball form.

(4A) Raiton: Byakurai – Lightening Element: White Lightening. Hachi shoots lightening from his mouth, but in the form of raw lightening. Can only be used at one-tail or higher, as the chakra required is phenomenal.

(5A) Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu – Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique. The jutsu summons a huge toad in midair to crash upon a target.

(6A) Magen: Jubaku Satsu – Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death. With this jutsu, the user can make themselves disappear, allowing them to approach their target unnoticed. Once completed, a tree and roots will grow at the target's feet and restrict their movements. Once the opponent believes that they are captured, the user can then appear above their opponent from the tree's trunk and kill the target. In the Kurama clan filler arc of the anime, this jutsu seems to be quite versatile, with a wide range of variations on the standard nature theme. In addition to the disappearing and tree-growing effects of the jutsu, the user can produce flowers, seedpods, vines and multiple trees.

(7A) Rai-tama – Lightening Ball. The user shoots lightening in the shape of a ball. Depending on how much electricity is put into it, it can stun or kill.

(8A) Kuchiyose: Gurando Nonki Pou – Summoning: Grand Reckless Art. Hachi's last attack. Can only be used at four-tails and above. When used, the user takes the electricity in the air and combines it with their body, creating a body for the Hachibi no Ryu.

(9A) Doton: Doryuuheki – Earth Element: Earth Style Wall. The user spits out a stream of mud that quickly grows and solidifies into a strong, protective wall

(1) Nikudan Sensha – Chouji's Bullet Tank attack.

(2) Tobikiri no Saikyo tai Saikyo – Translates as "Best of the Strongest verses the Strongest". Also the name of a song by singer Hironobu Kageyama.

(3) Densetsu no Sannin – Three Legendary Ninja

(4) Hokumon – North Gate; Tayuya's designation among the Sound Four.

(R1) Sanbi no Hachimata-Hachi – Three-tail Hachimata-Hachi

(R2) Ichibi no Kyuubi-Naruto – One-tail Kyuubi-Naruto

(S1) Kyuubi Hang – My term for the attack Kyuubi-Naruto does when he uses the Kyuubi chakra to lengthen a limb and grab objects far away. Based off of Gundam Nataku's Dragon Hang (from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz).

One note: The name of the Chuunin with Ibiki, "Mumei" is Japanese for the word "Nameless". A bit of a pun, there.

_Next time on_ Wrath of the Dragon: _The Dragon has been summoned. The three shinobi villages are forced to combine their strength to battle this knew foe. And if that isn't bad enough, Hachimata tries to recruit Naruto to his side. Will Naruto join the insane dragon? Or will he go the way of Gaara? Hey… where'd Sasuke's body go? Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: Power of the Dragon! Triple Village Combo Attack!!

Whoo!! Longest chapter so far! Twenty-four pages in Microsoft Word, and 9,437 words by Microsoft Word word-count… a personal record! Read and review to see what happens next, and much more will be revealed next chapter. If you have any questions or comments, leave them in with the reviews. Now time for me to sleep… Good night… Zzzzzz…

((_unconscious _Rai Shunshin no Jutsu))


	9. Power of the Dragon! Triple Combo Attack

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Again, not really much to say, except thanks for all the reviews. The fight against Hachi continues, and things will pretty much be harder than the Gaara fight in the anime/manga. And I should have clarified this, but when I said Hachi's ear was fin-like, I meant something close to Kyuubi's ear.

On another note, I'm amazed no one commented on the Corpse Dolls. I mean, isn't it significant that Orochimaru can't summon the First and/or Second Hokage? Eh… enough of that. And in regards to Hachi, when the speech was normal and **bold**, he was alternating between his voice and the Hachimata's. And Hachimata is male.

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'**_Blah_**' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

_**Answer to reviews:**_

**Naols**: If this were in Naruto, it would probably be a movie, not a filler. Mainly 'cause it's too graphic for a filler episode.

**Peter Kim:** Just wait; there'll be a startling new twist to this.

**SuzukaTamashii**: Further down, you'll see the reason why I killed off Sasuke.

**The Gemini Project**: The reason I called it a Summoning Technique was because unlike Gaara, who used the surrounding dirt and sand to create Shukaku's body, Hachi had to take all the protons and electrons in the air to create the body of Hachimata, using his own body as a literal sacrifice to bind himself to Hachimata. But he still can't fully release Hachimata, because Hachi's own body was used as the base of the whole thing, and releasing Hachimata would cause him to die, and take Hachimata with him.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 9: Power of the Dragon! Triple Village Combo Attack!!

Sarutobi couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. He had lived a full life, fathered a son, and a grandson, and was pretty much the oldest person in the village.

But age has its downfalls. He wasn't as fast or strong as he was in his prime. And he distinctly remembered the Kyuubi attack. And he also remembered Yondaime's last words to him.

"_Please… Sarutobi. Please… tell the villagers to treat the boy as a hero… for each day he lives… the Kyuubi stays locked away… he is a true hero of Konoha… and I regret… not being able… to see him grow…_"

"I'm sorry, Arashi," muttered Sarutobi to himself. "These people you left are a thick-headed bunch. Only a select heed you, and right now, we could use your wisdom."

Orochimaru was staring at the immense dragon that appeared. 'Damn it all… It's worthless staying here. The last Uchiha in Konoha is dead, and Itachi-san is far too strong. Not to mention that _they_ are out for my blood.'

Both leaders at this point had the same exact thought on their minds: 'What do we do now?'

vvvvvvvvv

**Rewind:**

_When he opened his eyes, he felt no pain. Nothing at all. When he looked down, he saw his unmoving form. "What now?" he asked no one in particular. "Where do I go from here?"_

"_Back," came a voice._

_When he turned around, he saw a younger version of himself. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Back? What do you mean, back?"_

_His younger self shrugged and said, "Back to your body, baka."_

_He snorted. "And how, pray tell, am I supposed to do that?"_

"_Just go down into it," said the younger. "But I would like to talk with you, first."_

_Grumbling, he sat in midair and crossed his arms. "Well?"_

"_I think you should rethink your priorities._

_He was about to protest when the other him waved his hand. "I may be little, but hear me out. All you concentrated on was killing aniki. You never tried to think beyond that."_

"_I didn't need to," he growled. "It's easy: Kill aniki, rebuild the clan, and then die happy."_

_The younger shook his head. "How will you gain the power to kill aniki?"_

_He was silent, but then he said, "I'll gain power to kill aniki, even if I have to sell my flesh to the devil to do it."_

"_And that is the problem," said the younger, pointing a finger at him. "All you thought about was gaining power. Now I ask you: Even if you do kill aniki, what woman would want you, after you sell your flesh?"_

_He was about to say a name when it hit him. He had remembered how his teammate was treated, and he had recently found out why. And then he thought about the hypothetical treatment that would befall him as well. Sighing, he knew his younger self was right. "What do you want me to do, then?"_

_Grinning, his smaller self said, "Me, I would switch the order. You can wait until you're older, but you can try to revive the clan, so you will have purpose to kill aniki. After all, Sakura-chan is kinda cute."_

_Blushing lightly, he shook his head and stood. "Arigatou," he muttered, then moved downwards. Just as he was about to enter his body, he looked up and asked, "Who are you, really?"_

_Grinning, his younger self grew, until he was an exact replica of himself. "I'm your long forgotten other self. And you might want to get back in. It's already been four minutes."_

_Nodding, he descended, and the other version of himself disappeared, back into the depths of his mind._

vvvvvvvvvv

**Fast Forward:**

Neji watched as the immense dragon let lose a roar to the sky. The sky itself was now similar to that of one that was ready to have a severe thunderstorm. The clouds were dark, and every time Hachimata roared, a bolt of lightening flashed.

Hachimata roared again, and cast its gaze at the village before it. It glared down at the stone-still shinobi before slightly opening its mouth.

Neji watched the electricity dance in the teeth of the dragon, and when the dragon opened his mouth further, he yelled, "Down!! NOW!!!"

vvvvvvvvv

Jumping off the building, the ones on there were star-struck to see the building be blown to pieces by the bolt of lightening that came from Hachi's mouth. In its places was falling pieces that fell to the ground like meteors, and a large crater.

And then everything went to hell from there. Hachimata thrust forward one of his arms and demolished a building, the sheer force behind it causing an explosion of dust and rubble, and the remains falling upon hapless shinobi.

He then thrust a tail forward, the appendage falling upon Leaf, Sand, and Sound shinobi without prejudice or feeling. The tail also took out a building or two, causing those to fall to the ground in clouds of dust and rubble.

The shinobi that managed to avoid the tail was struck with horror when the end of it rose up, twisting and contorting. The curved spike lengthened to overlap the end, and change from horn to flesh, until the entire end of the tail was a smaller replica of Hachimata's head.

The head roared and fell upon the awestruck shinobi, its jaws opening and closing among them, coming up with screaming Leaf, Sand, and Sound shinobi in its jaws before biting down, severing arms, legs, and various body parts hanging out of the dragon's jaws and putting an end to some of the screams, while causing others to rise in pitch.

The ends of six other tails did the same, contorting themselves into dragon heads, and falling upon the village, some breathing fire, others breathing lightening. In a short while, smoke rose from various spots in the village. And an observer from far away could see the glow of the fire, the smoke of the fire, and the yellow glow of Hachimata's eyes.

Hachimata threw back his head, and let loose a roar to the sky. In turn, the seven dragon heads let loose their own roars, higher in tone, but terrifying nonetheless. The sky was dark with the smoke from the emergence of Hachimata, the smoke from the fires of the village in the process of being destroyed, and the roars and cries of the heads of the dragon.

vvvvvvvvv

Iruka and the Konohamaru Corps watched as Hachimata raged in the village. "Good freakin' lord," said Iruka, as Hachimata let loose another stream of fire from his main head, causing an explosion and making smoke rise up.

"I-Iruka-sensei," stammered Moegi, clutching Konohamaru's arm. "Wha-what is that thing?"

Iruka only said, "I'll tell you all inside," and ushered them into the shelter before Hachimata could see them.

Once inside, he met up with Anko, who had helped supervise the evacuation of the Academy, and several of the other sensei's, along with the students.

"Well, Iruka?" asked Anko, crossing her arms. "What's going on? Are we beating back Oto and Suna?"

News to him that was, but he had to tell them. Sighing, he braced himself for the outcry. "We are being attacked by another one."

One of the sensei's raised an eyebrow, and voiced what everyone else was ready to ask: "Another what?"

"Another Bijuu," said Iruka, willing himself not to crack.

That made the instructors and Anko stiffen. But one of the students asked, "What's a Bijuu?"

"A tailed beast, and a powerful demon," said Anko morosely. "Like the Kyuubi no Yoko that attacked the village 13 years ago."

That sent everyone into a panic. "Another Kyuubi!? It must be coming to finish the job that the other didn't!" yelled a horror-stricken instructor.

Konohamaru yelled out, "It ain't no fox, it's a giant eight-tailed dragon!!"

Anko was the first to recover from the initial shock that gripped everyone. "Fuck me sideways with a foot-long cock," she muttered. Fortunately, the only one who heard her was Iruka, and he just sent a glare at her. "Is there some higher force at work here?" she asked aloud. "Did Konoha do something to piss God off?"

"As long as we're in here," said Iruka, "we have at least some chance at survival."

"B-but Iruka-san!!" exclaimed one of the instructors. "What about the parents of the children!?"

Iruka held up his hand to stem the wave of agreements coming at him. "Look at the whole picture. We haven't fully recovered from the Kyuubi attack from 13 years ago, and worse yet, the Uchiha's were wiped out, except for Uchiha Sasuke. We may put up a good fight, with the shinobi we have now, but we will lose, more than likely. And with our main shinobi trying to stem the flow of the enemy, we can only hope to save the future, and avoid total destruction."

Anko nodded. "Umino's right. Nonetheless," she walked towards the exit, "I'm going to aid in anyway I can."

"Good, I'll go, too," said Iruka.

"Wait! Iruka!!" shouted one of the instructors. "Why are you going? You're the most accomplished instructor we have, you can't go!!"

"Yeah, but I've seen more combat than any of you have," said Iruka, without turning around. "And I took an oath to serve my village when the time came. And that time is now." Turning to his students, he finished with, "You all are the future of Konoha, and it was an honor to instruct you in our ways." With that, he followed Anko, painfully aware of the cries of "Don't go, Iruka-sensei!!" 'Stay safe, children,' he thought, as he and Anko left the monument. 'You, too…' he thought, looking at the roaring dragon, '… Naruto.'

vvvvvvvvvvv

Said blonde was dodging a dragon head that came at him from above. 'Damn that bastard Hachi!!' he thought angrily. 'Why the hell did it have to be a dragon!?'

Elsewhere, Sarutobi watched as Hachimata turned his magnificent head towards them and raised his right arm. Holding out his giant hand, he put it in the imitation of a gun; thumb out, index finger straight out.

"**Click-click,**" growled the dragon, flexing his draconic thumb. "**Raiton: Teppoudama **(1A)** …**" he growled, as a oval-shaped lightening ball shot from the finger and flew towards the Kage and the rogue Sannin.

"Kuso!!" shouted Orochimaru, as he and his former sensei, as well as the remainder of the Sound Four, leapt off the building to avoid destruction. The building wasn't so lucky, as it had the upper portion of it blown to pieces.

"Damn," said Kidoumaru. "How we got stuck fighting an _insane_, talking dragon with a god complex is beyond me."

Orochimaru was thinking along the same lines, but more so on Sasuke's unfortunate demise. 'That damn dragon… he screwed up everything. The only way that I see that retribution can be made is in blood.' "Sarutobi," he said. "It seems as though we now have a common enemy."

"It would seem so, Orochimaru," he replied. "Perhaps a temporary alliance is in store?"

"Only temporary," said the Hebi-Sennin, narrowing his eyes at his former sensei. "As soon as that dragon's dead, you're next, along with this village." With that, he jumped backwards into the air, and biting his thumb, spread blood across the tattoo on his arm. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he yelled, and out of the smoke that followed came a giant purple snake with horned scales on the sides of its head.

"**Orochimaru**," it asked, its voice deep and silky, "**Why have you summoned me**?"

"Look in front of you, Manda," said Orochimaru from his spot on his summon's head. Manda, the boss of the snakes, saw the dragon that turned to glare at him and hissed, "**So you want me to fight Hachimata, the Insane One? Very well, but when this is over, I demand sacrifices.**"

With that, Manda was attacking like a true serpent; he slithered around the dragon, avoiding the dragon heads that were striking at him, and struck, burying his massive fangs in the dragon's shoulder, then withdrawing and striking the dragon's wing. He withdrew upon seeing the dragon heads streak towards him, and hissed angrily when two shot fireballs at him.

Jiraiya, from his vantage point on the giant toad with the two katana's, saw that Orochimaru summoned Manda. And as much as he knew Gamabunta wasn't going to like this, he knew he had to. "I guess it's time that I break out the big guns as well," he muttered. Looking down on the toad, he said, "Hey, you mind letting my apprentice take over for me?"

When the toad rumbled its assent, Jiraiya called Naruto up, despite the roars of Hachimata. When Naruto arrived, he had Hinata and Hanabi with him. "Ero-Sennin, what's going on?"

Deciding to forego that remark, Jiraiya pointed at the giant purple snake that swayed in front of the dragon. "That is Manda, the boss of the snakes. For Orochimaru to summon him means that he's getting desperate. I need to summon Gamabunta, so you can take control of this one."

Grumbling, Naruto nodded, and Jiraiya was off. Leaping into the air, he performed the seals, and yelled, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

In the puff of smoke that came, Jiraiya appeared on the top of Gamabunta's head. Said toad boss said, "**Jiraiya, you'd better have a damn good reason for this…**" Trailing off, he saw Hachimata, who now turned his attention from Manda to him. "**Why is it always the Insane One?**" he muttered, and drew his blade. "**Well, you've piqued my interest, Jiraiya. What now?**"

"Oil," said Jiraiya.

Gamabunta knew what that meant. Puffing out his cheeks, he sent a stream of oil at the dragon, who shielded himself with a massive wing. "Now," said Jiraiya, as he inhaled, then exhaled a stream of fire, yelling, "Katon: Gamayu Endan (2A)!!" The oil lit on fire, turning the stream of oil into a stream of fire, which enveloped Hachimata.

Shielding his eyes from the blast of heat, Naruto said, "Cool attack. Wonder if I can do that?" Deciding to test that theory, he tapped the toad below him. "Can you spit out some oil, too?"

The toad complied, and spat out a wad of oil. Naruto then did the seals, inhaled, and exhaled, yelling "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" When the Grand Fireball hit the airborne ball of oil, it transformed into a giant flying fireball.

Hachimata swept aside some of the flames that surrounded it, just in time to see the giant fireball coming at him. Without the time to even blink, the fireball collided with Hachimata head-on, causing a magnificent explosion and the dragon to roar.

From their vantage point at arriving next to Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, and Asuma, who by this time had leapt to a nearby roof when one of the dragon heads entered the open roof of the stadium; Iruka and Anko surveyed the inferno that was Hachimata.

"That was a nice move," said Anko from beside Kakashi. Kakashi nodded. "Naruto got stronger, and he is proving it right now."

Anko then turned morose. "Did you hear the news? The last Uchiha is dead."

That sent everyone listening into shock. Kakashi was the first to recover. "Wha… what? How?"

Anko pointed to Sakura, who was with the other Genin and Ibiki, and was struggling to not let tears fall. "Pinky over there said that that Hachi kid was a Jinchuuriki, and he killed him."

Kakashi lowered his head. He had failed his own teammate, and he had failed his student as a sensei. Looking up, he narrowed his visible eye and said, "Where is he?"

Kurenai then said, "Kakashi, killing that Kumo-nin won't bring Uchiha Sasuke back from the dead. And beside…" She was cut off by a loud roar.

They all looked to see that the raging inferno that was Hachimata dispel the fire, by use of a chakra pulse. The poisonous yellow chakra pulse slammed into Manda, causing the snake to fly backwards and slam into a few buildings, collapsing them. Manda groaned, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The chakra pulse then slammed into Gamabunta, who crouched under the strain of that raw power. Then Hachimata sent a dragon tail at Hanta-Hebi (1), the toad Naruto, Hinata, and Hanabi were on. The toad leapt backwards, but he was caught in the air by twin dragon heads. Disappearing in a puff of smoke, Naruto performed Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He was able to get Hinata and Hanabi down, but then something went wrong.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the dragon tail coming. He was unable to dodge it, so he found himself wrapped around in it, like Hinata and Hanabi had been earlier.

"Naruto-kun!!" yelled Hinata, seeing the dragon take away he lover like it had done to her.

Naruto found himself staring death in the face, with death being Hachimata, the Hachibi no Ryu. Struggling, he knew that he was screwed. But as he was about to create a diversion that he knew would probably kill him, he was caught by surprise at what came next.

Hachimata began to speak, without opening his draconic maw. "…**Your willing self-sacrifice astounds us… Uzumaki Naruto…**"

Everyone heard the voice of the dragon, they were terrified of the voice of the dragon, but wanted to know what it meant by that. "What the hell are you talking about?" said Naruto, as he felt the tail around him tighten just a little.

"**We mean… despite that you have done nothing to warrant their hatred… except be born and blessed with the power of the gods… you are hated. …And yet… here you are… trying to save those that hate you…**"

"You're insane, you know that? I didn't ask for this!!"

"**I'm sane enough… at the moment…**" said Hachimata, and a growth appeared on the end of the dragon's snout. It formed itself into the upper body of Ryunosuke Hachi, who had his head bowed. He looked exactly the same he had been when they had first found him, when he had revealed that Naruto was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. When Hachi looked up, his eyes were pure yellow, and the voice that spilled forth from his mouth was a combination of his own and Hachimata's, and it reverberated throughout the village, letting all present hear every word he spoke..

"**You are… one of us, Uzumaki… one of the Nine… Why do you deny your given power? You and us… we're not so different… We are both… the proverbial gods amongst men…**"

"I'm not a god!! I'm human!! And I'm not the Kyuubi either!!" shouted Naruto at Hachi. "And I'm nothing like you, you evil bastard!!"

Hachi tilted his head. "**Evil? What is evil? You humans… You say one thing and do another… You claim that to kill an innocent child is evil… and yet… you will readily slaughter an innocent who has been blessed by the gods themselves with the power of the Kyuubi…**"

vvvvvvvvv

Konohamaru fell on his butt. He, Moegi, and Udon had snuck out to see what was going on, and they had heard every word that Hachimata said. "Naruto-nii-san has the power of the Kyuubi?" asked Moegi, her eyes wide.

"But why didn't oji-san tell us?" asked Konohamaru, knowing that he was going to confront his grandfather and Naruto later.

vvvvvvvvv

**Rewind:**

The rubble from the collapsed building shifted.

That shouldn't be a cause for concern, normally, but in the Shinobi World, what is normal?

The real cause for concern is that this particular rubble pile was basically tons of mortar and metal. If there was anything beneath it, it would have surely been crushed.

However, our attention goes to the girl who was currently fighting off two Oto-nin about a hundred yards away. She was Saiyuki Sara, a Genin who wasn't able to go to the Final Matches, but she was now faced with two leery-eyed Oto-nins.

"Do you know what I like best about Shinobi villages?" said one of the Oto-nin.

Her back against the wall, Sara spat out, "The fact that you'll only be jacking off to Kunoichi outfits?" But her blood ran cold when his partner said, "I like little girls."

They were upon her before she could blink. One was holding her down while the other tore her shirt apart. "You know what they say," he said, dipping a hand into her shorts. "Old enough to kill, old enough to fu--"

He was cut off when a fist-sized fireball hit him in the throat, throwing him backwards. His partner-in-crime was up, bringing shuriken to bear, when a giant fireball slammed into him, throwing him in the air and causing him to land away from her.

By some stroke of luck, she was relatively unharmed by the fire, and she stood shakily to her feet. When she heard a voice ask if she was alright, she turned to reply that she was, when she saw her rescuer. Her words caught in her throat, and she stiffened at the sight before her.

Her rescuer tilted his head, and was about to ask her again, when they felt the chakra pulse that ripped through the village, and heard the roars of the dragon. "Get in your house, and stay there," he ordered, and she followed without a second thought. The task at hand complete, he jumped onto the rooftops, heading toward ground zero.

'I'm coming, and none of you had better die…'

vvvvvvvvvv

**Fast Forward:**

"What's that dragon talking about?" asked Chouji as he, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, and the rest of the Genin stood with the Jounin.

"It's talking about us," came a voice, one the Chouji recognized as his father's. Appearing beside them, the original members of the Shika-Ino-Chou Group appeared, brows furrowed.

"What do you mean, Chouza-sama?" asked Kiba.

"Every year, at the Kyuubi Festival, members of our village would seek out Uzumaki-san and try to end his life, because they felt that they owed it to those who lost their lives against the Kyuubi," said Shikato. "It shames me to see those so overcome by grief and refuse to let go their hatred."

"In blatant disregard of Yondaime-sama's last wishes," finished Shino. He had seen this coming, and now, Konohagakure was at the mercy of the second most powerful member of the Kyuu no Bijuu.

Mercy that he was sure would not be shown.

In the meantime, Hachimata, speaking through Ryunosuke Hachi, continued his tirade against humanity. "**Heh heh heh… that look on your face… You ask how we know these things… Our answer is that the Eyes of the Dragon see all… and that we have asked around… you would be surprised at how many people would do anything to have you dead and gone…**"

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, and silently promised himself that he was going to have a nice, long chat with the council when this was over. 'If we make it through this…' he thought bitterly.

Hachimata continued. "**It is our view that Man is the one creature that will willingly betray their own… should the occasion call for it... Man who claims to follow such attributes that they put out… such as the value of Life…**"

Hachi lowered his head, then grinned. "**There is only one human though… that I respect… He was one… that earned it.**"

"**It was long ago… long before you were a gleam in your father's eye… We were sealed away in a god-forsaken statue in a god-forsaken shrine… But we could see through the eyes of other dragons… And one of our mortal dragon brethren… waylaid a group of Leaf-nin… that were on assignment… to destroy a Stone-nin outpost… They were caught by surprise… and almost lost their lives… But that man… he managed to slay one of our dragon brethren.**"

The massive dragon closed his eyes, then opened them. "**Such a feat… accomplished by a mere flesh-rat… is worthy of honor amongst the dragons… However… his efforts… which saved the lives of his companions… also doomed their mission… His companions… who should have rewarded his valor… turned their backs on him… as did the village you protect… In the end… he lost his honor… and his life when he sought to regain that honor… After this village is destroyed… he will be brought back… and attain the honor that was stolen from him…**"

Here, Hachimata glared down at the village. "**And who is this man, you ask? This man who was betrayed by the village he protected? This man who sought to regain his lost honor?**" His next words chilled everyone to the core.

"**This man… his name was… Hatake Sakumo.**"

Kakashi had to fight to keep the cry of indignation down his throat. His father, Hatake Sakumo (2), had never given him the truth of what had happened that day, but he had slowly degenerated after his disgrace of the failed mission, until the day came that he committed seppuku (3). His death turned Kakashi into the rule-follower that he was until the death of his teammate.

Naruto was shocked to know that the man that had found favor with Hachimata was the dead father of his sensei.

"**You call us evil? What is evil, we ask again. The truth is… there is no good… and there is no evil… There is only POWER… power meant to be used by those who grasp it…**"

"Hachi, you stupid bastard," snarled Naruto. "I've went through my entire life knowing that power comes at a price! The price of the Kyuubi in me was nearly half of the village, and the life of Yondaime! And everyone's been beating that into me my entire life!"

"**Heh heh heh… Like we said… those that can grasp the power given to them are the strongest… The strong live and the weak die… that is the way of things… You, us, and that kid Sabaku no Gaara… we are the gods amongst men… we are the strong… But Sabaku no tried to eliminate us to confirm his existence… he has suffered for it… and now… We are offering you a proposition…**"

Shifting his tail so that Naruto could look down at his home, and at the gawking Suna-nin, Oto-nin, and Konoha-nin. "**You have seen the truth… they all want you dead… I know that they have made you suffer… but you can return your vengeance full-fold…**" Here, Hachimata's voice echoed throughout the village. "**Join me… and together… we will reshape this world… into our own image…**" Looking at Naruto in his eyes, Hachimata's own began to glow as he exerted some of his influence. "**It is your duty as the Strong… and it is your true destiny…**"

"Fuck," said Kiba as he fell to his knees. "That bastard wants Naruto to join him, so they can destroy the world. Though I can't say that I didn't see this coming."

"What do you mean?" asked Ino, her eyes on the dragon.

"Think about it; your entire life was a living hell because people are too thick-headed to see the real you, and you've been pushed to the edge. Wouldn't you take any chance to turn the favor onto those who made you suffer?" said Shino.

"B-but, Naruto-kun wouldn't do that…" said Hinata, glancing up at Naruto.

Buki had left the arena and gone over to see if Orochimaru was alright. Sadly, at least for him, Orochimaru was anything but alright. When Manda had disappeared, the buildings he was lying against had collapsed even further. Buki found Orochimaru with his arms pinned beneath the rubble. One look, and he knew that Orochimaru's arms were beyond his skill. His arms were crushed, and looked ready to be torn from his elbow joints. After prying Orochimaru-sama loose, he looked up and said, "If Naruto-kun joins the Hachibi, we're royally screwed."

Naruto was currently swimming in his own thoughts. His mind was a haze, the only thing he could hear was Hachimata urging him to except the offer. He could faintly hear Kyuubi, but it was a haze as well. The images of his youth bombarded him, he saw himself beaten into unconsciousness, he saw himself thrown out of restaurants and stores, and he saw himself after failing the Academy. No one had bothered to aid him, besides the Hokage.

"Why… are you doing this?" he shoved out. "Is it for Kumogakure? So they'll have… an edge?"

Hachimata, through Hachi, shook his head. "**No. As far as Kumo knows… they only have one Jinchuuriki. We are doing this on our own… and we have our own to look after… and with you with us…**" he stopped, exerting more of his influence over Naruto, "**we will reign supreme… And we cannot be stopped… with you with us…**"

He was about to respond to Hachimata's offer, when he saw something. His head lowered, he saw Hinata gazing at him, hope in her eyes, and her hands clasped together. He knew that he'd be betraying his new-found lover if he joined the dragon, and he didn't want that.

"I've got your answer, Hachi."

Kakashi lowered his head, so Naruto was going to join Hachimata. Then there was no hope for the village.

Sakura was about to yell out to her teammate not to, when everyone listening heard his words.

"I'd rather die the bane of the village than join you, Hachimata."

That caught Hachimata completely by surprise. It was seconds later when he realized the implications of what the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki said, he was pissed. His little mind exertion trick had failed, and the Kyuubi brat was still loyal to the village that treated him less than trash. Now royally pissed off, the dragon speaking through his vessel snarled, "**So you would willingly throw your life away for these ungrateful creatures… these creatures who do not appreciate your being!?**"

"There are some that do," he said, looking down at Hinata and Iruka, who had appeared beside her. They smiled up at him, and he would have to, if not for the fact that the dragon tail began squeezing him.

Relishing the gasps and cries of pain that he was causing Naruto, Hachimata grinned darkly as he squeezed his tail around the Jinchuuriki. "**I gave you the choice of… joining me willingly… but you have elected… the way of death…**" The body of Hachi glared down at the watching shinobi. "**When you die… you're precious village is next… Sayonara… Uzumaki Naruto…**"

Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, just when it seemed that nothing could save Naruto at this point, everyone heard the sound of chirping birds.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "It can't be," he breathed.

"What is that sound?" asked Kiba looking around.

"Look!" said Hanabi, pointing to the sky. Looking up, everyone saw a winged something trailing a black and white ball of lightening. Where it was going… the tail of Hachimata.

Hachimata didn't see it coming. One moment, he was crushing Naruto was the ending segment of his tail, and the next, that segment was cut completely off. It fell to the ground, uncoiling as it fell, with Naruto separating from it. Hachimata then roared in pain as he thrashed his injured tail into the ground, the severed piece falling before him, and disintegrating into lightening.

In the meantime, the mystery creature caught Naruto under the arms as he fell, and spoke to him. "Oi, dobe… you can't die before I beat you…"

Dropping his shock like a nuke, Naruto grinned and said, "Get in line… Sasuke-teme. And thanks."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't mention it. Ever."

Landing on the rooftops, the two teammates turned to see the other Genin and Jounin approaching. Naruto then took the time to look over his teammate.

Sasuke's skin had gone a dark grayish brown, and his hair had grown and cascaded down his shoulders, to his back, and was colored a pale gray. The whites of his eyes had gone black, and he had his Sharingan activated, with three tomoes instead of the two that he remembered. A four-pointed star centered itself on his face, and his nails had lengthened into claws, like Naruto when he had used the power of the Kyuubi. In addition, a pair of hand-like wings came out the back of his one-piece outfit.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Naruto as he used the Kyuubi chakra to give him a tail.

Sasuke was about to answer when a kunai thrown made him jump back a little.

The kunai had come from Hanabi, who now yelled, "Get away from Naruto-nii-san, you monster!"

Before things could get out of hand, Naruto stood in front of Sasuke with his hands in front of him, going, "Ora ora, is that any way to greet someone back from the dead?"

At this, everyone was speechless, except for Sasuke, who coughed lightly. And then, he suddenly found Sakura in his arms, sobbing into his chest. Reluctantly, he put his arms around her, silently willing her to stop crying.

Ino was the first to speak. "We-we thought you were dead?"

Sasuke waited until Sakura quieted down, then he began. "It had something to do with Orochimaru's Juuin Fuuin. I was dead, but then I woke up, and my body was a mass of power. I was dead for four minutes, but when I woke up, I felt the power that that bastard Hachi was giving off, and I knew that whatever was going down wouldn't end well."

Sakura had been quiet until he finished, then she said, "Wh-Where did you get the wings?"

Sasuke flexed the wings on his back. "I wanted a faster way to get over here, and they sort of grew."

Anko furrowed her eyes. 'So, Orochimaru-teme perfected the Ten Juuin he used on me. From the way it sounds, when the Uchiha died, the Juuin Fuuin reconfigured his body so he could take the power that came with the Juuin Fuuin. But he can't keep it like that for too long.'

Their thoughts were cut shout by Jiraiya's "Head's up!!" Looking to Hachimata, they all jumped to other roofs at the sight of a giant fireball coming at them. Sasuke had grabbed Sakura around the waist and pulled her into the air, and Naruto had leapt to the side, with Hanabi in his arms.

Hachimata closed his gigantic maw and snarled. "**Damned Uchiha, I killed you!! You took a Rairyutsui to the chest… why are you still alive!?**" he roared, as he sent a dragon head at the airborne Sasuke.

A red hand grabbed the neck of the mini-dragon head, and arm it was connected to stretched to a grinning Naruto, who showed off two chakra tails. "Kyuubi Hang… success!!" he said, and drove the claws on the hand into the dragon's neck.

The dragon hissed and another came out of nowhere to bite the red chakra arms, but Naruto let go and the dragon ended up biting the neck of the other. The two hissed and roared, but turned their attention to the retreating arms.

Sasuke landed behind Naruto and said, "What now, dobe? All you did was piss them off."

"Heh," said Naruto, as he drew his hands inwards. Spreading quickly, he sent a wave of red at the dragon heads. "Kyuubi Wave!!"

The dragon heads were able to avoid the wave of red, but Hachimata had forgotten about one other thing. That one thing voiced Hachimata's negligence in the form of: "Katon: Gamayu Endan!!"

A stream of fire came at the dragon who countered it with his own blast of fire. The two beams of fire collided and fought each other, until the spot in the middle of the dueling flames exploded, sending a heat wave in all directions.

"This is a freakin' battle of the titans!!" exclaimed Kiba as he shielded himself from the blistering heat.

Gamabunta was weary of this fighting. The last time he remembered fighting this hard was when the Kyuubi attacked. Hachimata, on the other hand, was fresh. He reared back, and threw his head forward, shooting a giant fireball surrounded by lightening.

Knowing that that would probably mortally wound him if it hit, Gamabunta put his ginat hands in the Ram Seal and yelled, "**Suiton: Teppoudama** (3A)!!" From his mouth, he shot a giant ball of water. When it hit the other ball, there was an explosion of water, steam, and lightening that gave off the impression of a hot rainstorm.

"**That's it Jiraiya… I'm done. I put too much chakra in to stop that from doing serious damage.**"

"That's okay, 'Bunta," said Jiraiya jumping to a roof. And like that, Gamabunta disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"**How utterly noble of the old toad to try and stop us,**" said Hachimata, in a mock-tenderly tone. "**But we… are the strongest…**" He then started moving his throat, and when whatever was there moved up, Hachimata thrust his head forward and shot something out of his mouth. Out of reaction, Naruto stretched forth a chakra arm to catch it. Catching it, he was surprised to feel nothing. When he withdrew his arms, he saw what he was holding, and dropped it out of surprise.

"G-Gaara!!"

Before him lay the drool-covered form of Sabaku no Gaara, and unconscious to boot. He had never found out what had happened to Gaara, only that Hachi ate a scroll that apparently had him in it.

Temari and Kankurou appeared out of nowhere, and Temari cradled her little brother in her arms. "How did… When?"

"**Listen well… all you shinobi. One of… your strongest… has fallen… If this is the best… that the Shinobi World has to offer… then you are all doomed…**" With that, Hachimata threw his head to the sky, the sky that had gone dark with the smoke from Hachimata's emergence. Opening his jaws, Hachimata sent a stream of lightening to the dark sky.

"**Raiton: Ame no Rai **(4A)" roared Hachimata through Hachi, and bolts of lightening rained down from the darkened sky to the village below. The yellow bolts of lightening struck the village at random spots; one was the center of the arena, another was a spot in front of the Hokage Tower, and another was the Forest of Death. Every where that the bolts struck, there was a shinobi casualty. Sand, Sound, Leaf… the bolts did not care what they struck or where they struck.

"Good freakin' lord," said Kankurou, shielding his eyes from the brightness of the lightening bolts. "If this keeps up, then we're all gonna die."

Hinata winced at the sound of an explosion nearby. "But what can we do?"

Kiba shielded his eyes and ears, from the flash of light and resounding explosion from a lightening bolt. "Not much. From what Kaa-san said about the Kyuubi attack, a hell of a lot of people died then. And from what Shino said, nothing can beat a Bijuu except another Bijuu."

Kankurou winced. He could here the screams of dying Suna-nin. "The only one here that can even remotely do that is our Gaara. But it doesn't make any sense, Shukaku should've come out by now!"

Sasuke, who at this point had gone back to his basic form out of exhaustion, looked up from his spot on his knees, and asked, "What the hell is Shukaku?"

"Suna no Shukaku," said Shino, who was quiet up until that point, "is the Ichibi. Shukaku was said to be the Spirit of the Desert, with power over the sands, and at the full moon, he could destroy the entire of Konoha within a night."

Temari and Kankurou gaped at Shino, while Kiba said, "That's our Shino!!" Just then, Baki appeared beside them. "Where the hell have you been?" he said, but then he saw Gaara and Naruto's feet. "What did you do with our Gaara!?"

"He was eaten," hissed Naruto, pointed a clawed finger at Hachi. "By him."

Hachimata roared into the sky, and the seven dragon heads roared into the sky as well. The sky was nearly black with the smoke, and fires were all over the village, along with smoke rising from the fires, giving off the illusion of hell. Hachimata was the ruler of this hell, and all of the people in this village would soon feel the Wrath of the Dragon.

"Where is that damned Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, then?" said Baki, fear evident in his visible eye. "You Konoha-nin have him as a weapon, use it!"

"That's what started this whole mess," intoned Shino. "Since Gaara appears to be younger than… our Jinchuuriki, you must have sealed Shukaku into him at birth, yet intentionally made a weak seal for the Ichibi to break free when Gaara sleeps."

This time, Baki was the one who was gaping. "Ho-how did you know all that?"

"One: You just told me. Two: I'm Shino."

"He's right," said Shikamaru. "Gaara himself told me and Naruto that he had Shukaku sealed in him at birth, by order of the Kazekage, his own father. But the why didn't make sense until now, with… our Jinchuuriki and Hachi."

"So now, what do we do?" asked Kiba, keeping a wary eye on Hachimata, who at that moment, picked up a handful of Shinobi, threw them in the air, and promptly devoured them with the eight heads.

Naruto, at this point, had been quiet. 'Yoko… isn't there something we can do?'

Kyuubi was silent for a little while, until he spoke at last. "**There is one thing you can do… but you're not going to like it.**"

'Will I die?'

"**Possibly,**" said the Kyuubi. "**But at this point, it's the only option. And Hachimata isn't at full power, much he wants to believe. This way, we could destroy that insane bastard, but we might die in the process.**"

'… Just as long as Hinata-chan, Hanabi-chan, and Iruka-sensei are safe, and I can kill that dragon.'

"**Okay…**"

While Naruto was conversing with Kyuubi, Sarutobi appeared. "Glad to see you up and about, Sasuke-kun." Turning to Baki, his gaze went stern. "You and I are going to have a long chat when this is over."

Hinata, seeing how silent Naruto was, touched his arm. Right there, he snapped out of his trance, drew her to him, and kissed her right there. Everyone watching either said, "Get a room!" , or "This ain't the place or time for that!" In the case of Jiraiya, he filed it away for future use.

When he let her go, Naruto looked down into her lavender eyes, and whispered, "Sayonara… Hinata-chan." Taking off his hitai-ate, he put it in her hands, and jumped off the roof, and was gone.

"Naruto-kun!!" she cried. She watched as he, already in Kyuubi-Naruto form, with two chakra tails raced towards Hachimata. Activating her Byakugan, she saw a third tail begin to form, and through his back, she saw the seal. And in the seal, she saw the Kyuubi, who looked at her, and gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"What the hell is he doing?" yelled Kiba, as he helped Hinata up. "He's gonna get himself killed!"

"Where's Naruto?" asked Kakashi. He had been with Asuma and the other, with the Hokage, who had given the idea of using the same sealing process that Yondaime used on Naruto on Hachimata, but that plan was shot down.

"That dumbass went to fight Hachimata alone!" snarled Kiba as Hinata cried into his shoulder.

Kakashi stiffened. He had already lost one of his students, but gained him back, and he wasn't about to lose this one. Ignoring Asuma and Kurenai, he jumped down, and began chasing after his student. 'I shouldn't have just paid attention to Sasuke! Now, I'm going to lose one of my students, and the very person who Arashi-sensei wanted to be seen as a hero!'

Naruto was aware that Kakashi was following him, but it didn't matter in the long run. He had three chakra tails, and he knew that Hachimata knew that he was coming. Hachimata had looked down and was now moving his other seven heads around the main one. "Now, Yoko!!" Naruto shouted. "Do it now!"

"**Alright, kit. And don't worry, I'll stop it when he's dead, and you'll still retain some of yourself while in this form.**"

"Heh, thanks." Those were the last words Naruto had time to say. As the fourth chakra tail grew, everything changed from thereon in.

vvvvvvvvv

Jiraiya was the first to feel it. "Sweet son of a monkey's ass," he breathed. Only to be hit on the head by both Asuma and Sarutobi.

Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi all felt the chakra pulse given off, but it was different than Hachimata's. It was… more powerful. More malevolent. Activating their Byakugan, they saw a sight that would stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Naruto was enveloped in red chakra, with four tails trailing behind him. Almost as if he knew that he was being watched, he turned his head a little, let a flash of blue enter his eyes, and mouthed "I love you, Hinata-chan." Then he fell on all fours.

And that's were the transformation began.

Naruto's eyes turned white, and his flesh began to peel off of him. His blood exited his body through the wounds, and touched the chakra shell around him. The chakra around him was already in the shape of a fox, and the redness of his blood fusing with it nearly turned it black. He let out a roar, a primal roar that rivaled Hachimata's, yet was lower in tone and deeper in bass.

And then the shell exploded.

The explosion sent debris flying everywhere. Kakashi saw it coming from where he was, and knew he wouldn't be able to get away in time. So, clapping his hands together, he muttered "Doton: Doryuuheki!!" He lowered his mask quickly, and spat out a lot of mud, which grew and formed a barrier in front of him. Pulling his mask up, he crouched behind the barrier, as the shockwave hit.

vvvvvvvvvv

The shockwave sent red debris into the air, and the Genin saw it from were they stood. "What's happening!?" shouted Temari.

"I don't know!" shouted Jiraiya. "This has never happened before!"

Shielding his eyes and holding Sakura, Sasuke uttered a low, "Don't die, dobe."

Shielding themselves with their arms, Hinata, Hanabi, Neji, and Kiba took note of the amount of chakra given off. "This is monstrous," said Kiba, his eyes wide with fear. Now he knew for certain that he didn't stand a chance against Naruto. "Is this… is this the true power of a Jinchuuriki!?"

Hinata's thoughts on the matter were, 'Please don't die, Naruto-kun… Please don't die!'

vvvvvvvvvv

Hachimata caught the full blast of the explosion, but he was still too large to have any major damage done to him. However, the dragon heads that were the ends of his tails were sheared away by the force of the explosion, reverting them back to dragon tail ends. His whiskers had been singed, as well as his beard.

Hachi, the puppet that was Hachimata's liaison, had been pulled in. But when he came out, and surveyed the damage, his mouth widened into a fanged smirk. "**Honestly… Uzumaki amuses us to no end…**" he whispered to himself.

Before him was a crater. But in the crater was a crouching… thing. It had dark red, nearly black fur, and it had eyes as yellow as the sun. It had four swaying tails behind it, and claws on its feet and hands, and long fox-ears protruded from the top of its skull sweeping backwards. It's face had some barely visible human attributes, like a nose, but its jaws were the jaws of a monster. And from those jaws came forth a disturbing noise.

"… **Ugghhh…**"

Kakashi, who watched from behind his demolished earth wall, muttered two words: "Not good."

For his student was gone. In his place was the avatar of the Kyuubi.

Yonbi no Kyuubi-Naruto (4).

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Translations:

(1A) Raiton: Teppoudama – Lightening Element: Gunshot. A lightening version of Suiton: Teppoudama, except that it can be fired from a finger, or from the mouth. Thus far, only Hachi/Hachimata can use this move.

(2A) Katon: Gamayu Endan – Fire Element: Toad Oil Flame Bullet. Gamabunta spits out a large amount of oil, which is then ignited by the user. Jiraiya uses Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu to ignite the oil, as does Naruto in this fic. The sheer amount of oil Gamabunta is capable of spitting allows this jutsu to reach further and cover a much larger area than any other fire jutsu. Apparently, in this fic, the toad Naruto was on is capable of that move as well.

(3A) Suiton: Teppoudama – Water Element: Gunshot. User fires a ball of compressed water at the target from their mouth. Thus far, only Gamabunta has been seen capable of using this move.

(1) Hanta-Hebi – A ploy off of the toad that Jiraiya summoned during the Sound/Sand Invasion. Jiraiya said that that toad was a Snake Hunter, and so he was named Snake Hunter. In Japanese, of course.

(2) Hatake Sakumo – The father of Hatake Kakashi. He was said to have been more respected than the Sannin, but he lost it when he failed a mission instrumental to Konoha. He opted to save his partners, and didn't finish the mission, resulting in a great loss of life. Disgraced and shunned, his skills degenerated until he committed Seppuku to regain his lost honor.

(3) Seppuku – Ritualistic Japanese suicide in which the person doing it stabs themselves in the upper stomach with a blade, pulls it down, and sideways, while another person stands behind them and cuts off their head. Used as a way to regain lost honor. The last time Seppuku was committed, it was by Japanese officials after World War II.

(4) Yonbi no Kyuubi-Naruto – Four-tail Kyuubi-Naruto. The strongest version of Kyuubi-Naruto to be seen. If he was here, we'd be screwed. Royally.

One note: The technique Sasuke used to sever Hachimata's tail was Habataku Chidori (Flapping One Thousand Birds). Using the power gained through the level 2 form of his Ten Juuin Fuuin, the Chidori that Uchiha Sasuke was taught to use as a "blade" to protect his comrades is warped into a dark version of itself that is used to sever things (originally in the manga/anime, it was used to sever his ties with Konoha). In contrast to the usual chirping of birds that the Chidori is known for, this technique emits a noise much like that of a large number of birds taking flight. Its power far surpasses that of the normal Chidori.

_Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: _To save his home and the ones he loves, Naruto was forced to become that which he feared being. And to throw things into the mix, it looks like Gaara's waking up and mad as hell. And Hachimata has decided to stop playing around. Konoha's been trashed; what the hell is gonna happen now!? Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: Assault of the First & Last! Farewell, Ryunosuke Hachi!!

Man, do I hate Exams!! Such a perfect waste of three hours! Anyway, a bit of a double meaning behind the second title of the next chapter. And same stuff as always: Read, review, questions or comments go in with the reviews. And since it's three in the morning, time for me to go to bed. Good night…

((Rai Shunshin no Jutsu))


	10. Fight of the One and Nine! Bye Hachi!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Not really much to say. Except that I apologize for the long wait, but I had some affairs to take care of. Long story short, massive amounts of schoolwork, combined with trying to get hold of a good job. And then there were numerous illnesses that I picked up because of eating the wrong things and the Crash of Doom...

And the worse thing of all: **Writer's Block…** ((shudders))

But I digress: I apologize once again for the lateness of the update.

"Blah" - human speech

"**Blah**" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'**Blah**' – summon/demon thoughts

'_**Blah**_' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

_**Answer to reviews:**_

**Tellemicus Sundance **& **Samael the Desolate One**: Even though you bring up valid points, my reasoning is thus: The way I see it, in order for the Seal to advance, Sasuke's body had to be dead (this is what Sakon said). However, the drug that they gave him minimized the effect to a death-like coma, and the barrel they sealed him in was to keep the effects of his body confined, and disguise his chakra level. I don't want to argue, and you two bring up valid points, but that's the way I see it.

**Peter Kim**: There will probably be a sequel to this, but it probably won't be until after a few more twists.

**VFSnake**: I'm here, and it wasn't just Writer's Block… it was also the Crash of Doom. AKA, a System Crash that wiped out just about all of my hard work, both Fanfiction and Schoolwork…

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 10: Assault of the First and Last! Farewell, Ryunosuke Hachi!!

**Mindscape:**

_When Gaara came to, he was staring at a yellow sky. Now why the sky was yellow was beyond him. Sitting up, he took note that his gourd was missing from his back. Narrowing his eyes, he surveyed the area around him._

_There was a full moon in the sky, and it was yellow and huge. And there was sand in all directions. Growling to himself that death would be promised to the unfortunate soul who left him out here, he started walking in a straight line._

_As time passed, he thought about what had transpired when he was last awake. It was the day he had tried to kill that Leaf-nin, one of the only shinobi to ever touch him in battle…_

_**Flashback:**_

Gaara stalked away from the hospital, his eyes full of rage. Uzumaki and that shadow kid had foiled his plans of making the bushy eyebrows pay for his transgressions. And now, Mother was angry and after more blood.

"You need Anger Management Classes," said a familiar voice.

Looking up, Gaara saw Ryunosuke Hachi standing on the ledge of one of the buildings. Growling, he used the sand to move up to where Hachi was. "I thought I told you the next time I saw you, you were dead," said Gaara, narrowing his eyes.

Yawning, Hachi shrugged and said, "What can I say? I've grown accustomed to death threats. And killing intent." Hachi grinned, and said, "The question is, do you have what it takes to kill me?"

Gaara said nothing, but sent a torrent of sand at Hachi, who jumped backwards, onto the roof of another building. Gaara moved toward him, sending more sand at the Kumo-nin, who dodged again.

"C'mon," said Hachi, grinning as he flitted around the striking sand. "Is this the best Shukaku has to offer?"

Gaara flinched. He had no idea how the Kumo-nin had known that Mother was inside him, but that Kumo-nin was dead. Making his decision, he had the sand swirl around Hachi like a typhoon.

Hachi only had time to blink as Gaara growled out, "Sabaku Kyuu…" As the sand covered Hachi, Gaara clenched his fist closed, growling "Sabaku Sousou!!" The sand compressed, and a large ball of sand stood in front of Gaara. The slightly insane Suna-nin grinned and asked, "How did you like his blood, Mother?"

Gaara was then thunderstruck by what happened next. A lump appeared in the sand. First one, then two, then three lumps appeared. And then, the unthinkable happened.

The Sand Coffin exploded with a flurry of sand in all directions. Shielding his eyes, the last thing Gaara saw was a reptilian hand reaching for his face, and then everything went black.

vvvvvvvvvvv

Hachi flexed his draconic arm, and then set it back to normal. "I got careless," he muttered, as his amber yellow eyes darkened to brown. Looking over the edge, he saw a small crowd of people gathering in front of the building.

Cursing, he lifted the unconscious Gaara by his arm onto his shoulder, and put his free hand into the Ram Seal. Arcs of lightening danced around him, before a loud ZAP went off, and he disappeared in a flash of yellowish-white light.

He reappeared with a loud crack on the head of Yondaime Hokage at the Hokage Monument. "Heh heh, if only you could see your precious village now," he muttered to the stone face overlooking the village, dropping Gaara on his side like a nuke. Taking out a kunai, he gave off a low hiss as he maneuvered the blade into the palm of his hand.

He was unaware that deep within Gaara, Shukaku was beginning to arise. The sand that was Gaara's gourd began to twist and writhe, and the bottom of the lower half formed the tail of the sand Tanuki. The upper half malformed itself, until it covered Gaara's right arm, morphing it into the Tanuki arm. When the sand covered the right half of Gaara's face, his eye snapped open, revealing a pale yellow eye with a four-pointed star in the center, the pupil, and blackness were there once was white.

Hachi finished the blood-inscribed Fuuin circle, when he heard a low growl and felt the rising chakra level. Cursing, he spun around to see Gaara rise up, panting and drooling as the sand began to envelop him, descending him into Shukaku even more. Within a matter of seconds, Gaara's upper half had completely transformed into Shukaku, while he still retained his human legs.

Hachi crouched, slamming his hand into the ground, as Gaara inhaled, then blew out a mix of wind and sand, yelling "Fuuton: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa (1A)!!" The cloud of sand slammed into a wall of fire that rose up, solidifying into glass from the searing heat.

As the glass cooled, Hachi grinned through it, revealing his razor-sharp canines. "Katon: Kajinheki (2A)," he said, his slitted yellow eyes gleaming. He frowned when he saw Gaara grin, or as well as a Tanuki could. The gleam of madness within the Suna-nin's eyes, coupled within the flash of pale yellow to gold, caused Hachi to utter the second-most used four-letter curse: "Fuck."

His sand-covered chest rising as he inhaled, Shukaku-Gaara thrust his head forward, shooting a massive bullet of air. "Fuuton: Renkuudan (3A)!!" The bullet of wind slammed into the wall of glass, causing the wall to shatter and send shards in every direction, but primarily towards Hachi.

Shukaku-Gaara grinned maniacally as Hachi disappeared in the storm of glass shards. "How did you like his **blood**, **Mother**?" said he. Suddenly, he stiffened, and cast his Tanuki head skyward.

He looked up just in time to see Hachi coming towards him with both arms gone draconic. Hachi's eyes gleamed, and he brought both massive fists down on Shukaku-Gaara's head with the force of a meteor. "Raiton: Rairyuutsui!!"

**CRACK**

vvvvvvvvvvv

Dragging the unconscious form of the half-transformed Jinchuuriki, Hachi left Gaara in the center of the circle. Noticing the sand beginning to move around, he chuckled and said, "Nuh-uh."

Putting his hands in the Ram Seal, he waited until lightening danced around his hands, then slammed them down on the squirming sand-covered form of Shukaku-Gaara. "Fuuin Jutsu: Hachi no Ryuu Fuujin (4A)!!"

The lightening arced out and slammed into the "Love" kanji still visible on Shukaku-Gaara's head, causing the Jinchuuriki to rise up, roaring in pain, and then fall back, the sand dispelling from his body. The unconscious Jinchuuriki twitched a little, then lay still.

"End of one problem," said Hachi, as he pulled out a blank scroll. Unrolling it, he placed it at the bottom of the Fuuin circle, and performed a series of seals, before stopping at Ram. "Fuuin Jutsu: Hozon Fuujin (5A)!!"

The Fuuin markings circled around Gaara, before wrapping around him. As they began to glow red, they began to pull themselves into the scroll. Gaara was pulled in too, and in a matter of seconds, the Suna-nin disappeared into the scroll, which furled itself closed.

Picking up the scroll, Hachi flipped it in the air once, caught it, then grinned. "End of another problem," he finished, pocketing the scroll. He was in no rush. He knew that as soon as he ate the scroll, the sealing would become undone in a matter of minutes. He calculated that he had at least thirty-five minutes when the scroll would fail. After he ate it, he reasoned.

Looking down at the scroll, he grinned again. "You loose this round, Sabaku no Gaara."

_**End Flashback**_

_Gaara was pulled out of his thoughts by the expanse that rose in front of him. It looked like a mountain. As he got closer, it appeared to have a temple built into it. The front of the temple jutted out of the mountain. As he got closer, he saw something sitting in front of it_

_It was a man. The man was large, pot-bellied, and sitting in lotus position. But what stuck out was the tail that curled around the man's body, and the sandy-colored pointed ears that stuck out the top of his sandy-colored hair._

_The man opened his eyes, and Gaara was surprised to see the eyes of Shukaku. "Hello, Gaara," he said, grinning to reveal his lengthened canines. "I've been waiting for you."_

**Exit Mindscape**

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Kakashi had seen many things. He had seen the corpse of his father after Seppuku, he had seen his teammate get his entire right side crushed, and he had seen his sensei lose his life sealing the Kyuubi away. And then he saw the life the vessel of the Kyuubi went through, and yet, he still committed the flaw of favoritism.

But this was one thing Kakashi never saw this before. The power of a Jinchuuriki. He had heard stories about Jinchuuriki enraged and unleashing the power of the Bijuu within them, but he had never before seen it up close.

"Too close for comfort," he muttered over the roars of Hachimata as the dragon challenged the Jinchuuriki of Konoha. "Hopefully the Kyuubi doesn't have complete control over Naruto, but that's an unfulfilling wish…" Acting on his better judgment, he decided to regroup with the others. With a prayer for his student's victory, he was gone.

Meanwhile, Hachimata growled, and sent a tail downward to impact on Kyuubi-Naruto. Kyuubi-Naruto rose onto his back legs, and blocked the tail, the scales on it hissing at the high temperature of the Kyuubi shell.

Snarling, Kyuubi-Naruto leapt to the side, and as another tail came at him, swiped to the left with both arms. The resulting red shockwave severed two of the tails and the incoming one, causing Hachimata to roar in pain.

Hachimata roared again, and losing all pretense, grabbed Kyuubi-Naruto with his massive right hand. The scales began to hiss and he threw the vessel in pain, and for his efforts, Kyuubi-Naruto extended his arms, grabbing the mustache of Hachimata, and speeding towards the dragon's snout.

Hachimata tossed his head up slightly, and caused Kyuubi-Naruto to fly towards his now-gaping maw. When the four-tailed Jinchuuriki was in range, he let loose a massive fireball that collided with the Jinchuuriki and sent him flying. However, he paid for it with a dark red hand that swiped out and clawed his eyes, causing the dragon to roar in pain.

vvvvvvvvv

"What's happening?" asked Jiraiya as Kakashi appeared.

"Naruto is in a four-tailed state," said Kakashi solemnly. "I fear that the Kyuubi is in full possession of his body."

Sarutobi shook his head. "I doubt that. Even in this state, the seal prevents the Kyuubi from fully taking over."

"Look!!" yelled Temari, from her spot attending her youngest brother. A dot of red was flying through the air, and it impacted into the building in front of them, raising up dust and rubble after the ensuing explosion.

When the something jumped out of the settling rubble, they drew back to see Kyuubi-Naruto on all fours. His baleful yellow eye bore into all of theirs, and then his piercing gaze settled on Hinata.

Hinata stood unblinking, willing herself not to flinch, but she was as surprised as everyone else was when the four-tailed Jinchuuriki pushed his humanoid fox head against her chest and into her arms, purring like a cat.

"I guess," said Jiraiya, slowly reaching for something in his vest. His wrist was grabbed by Sarutobi who shot him a glare.

vvvvvvvvv

Hachimata, during this time, had regrown his eyes and now glared balefully at Konoha. Catching sight of his quarry, the giant dragon roared and shot a stream of fire at the building at which the current bane of his existence sat.

vvvvvvvvv

"Look out!" shouted Iruka as the blaze of fire grew ever closer. Kyuubi-Naruto stopped nuzzling Hinata to turn his head to see the oncoming stream of fire. "**Ug… ug… Ug…**" he growled.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"**Ag… ag… AAG!!**" he growled out, facing the stream of fire that was nearly upon them. At that moment, blobs of his shell split themselves from him, and gathered around him, while his tails curled up so that the tips were pointing to his monster-esque jaws. Within seconds, the balls formed in front of his jaws and converged, fusing into a single blackish-red ball of pure Youkai-chakra in a matter of seconds.

"That could be dangerous," said Anko, her eyes alternating between the chakra ball, and the fire stream.

She didn't know how right she was.

vvvvvvvvv

**Mindscape:**

"_Who are you?" asked Gaara, narrowing his eyes._

_The man rolled his Shukaku-like eyes and said, "Shouldn't it be obvious? I'm Suna no Shukaku."_

_Gaara first reflex was to sand all the sand all around him towards the Bijuu that sat in front of him, but he was surprised when the sand went forward, but then doubled around and surrounded him._

"_This is my domain," said Shukaku, raising an eyebrow. "And unless you forgot, your control over sand comes from me. So you would do well to listen to what I have to say."_

_Gaara, angry as he was, knew that Shukaku was right. So, swallowing his pride and calming himself down, he stared at the Bijuu. "Well, what do you want?"_

_Shukaku grinned and said, "That's the million ryou question, isn't it? Well, now that my Berserker Seal is gone, I can keep my mind on several things without going nuts." Sitting down, he continued. "Now that the Berserker Seal is gone, you can now sleep without fear of me taking over."_

_Gaara was silent. It had to be too good to be true. There had to be some catch to what his inner demon was saying. He vividly remembered Yashumaru all too well, how he preached about love, but then tried to kill him. "What is the other part of this deal?"_

_Shukaku's eyes gleamed, and he said, "You have to loosen up. You know, get shit-faced hammered and get laid."_

_Narrowing his eyes, Gaara repeating these new terms out loud. "Hammered? Laid? What are these things you speak of?"_

_Shukaku blanched. "You're kidding, right?" At Gaara's vacant but tense stare, Shukaku dropped his head. "When this mess is over, you're going to meet the real world, and all the Pleasures in it."_

**Exit Mindscape**

vvvvvvvvvvvv

The chakra ball having formed, Kyuubi-Naruto opened his monster jaws and swallowed the ball. Right when the heat of the dragon flame was upon them, when the dragon fire was about to burn the shinobi to ashes, he opened his mouth.

The chakra ball shot from his mouth with the force of a thousand cannons. There was a flash of light, and it sped towards the fire, the recoil of the shot causing a wind to shoot backward at the shinobi behind him.

The stream of fire was obliterated as the ball of chakra sped through like a cannonball, the fire spreading in all directions as the ball moved closer and closer to the gaping maw of Hachimata.

Hachimata saw it coming at the last minute, and closed his massive jaws, just in time for the ball to smash into his draconic face. There was a massive explosion, and Hachimata's head was engulfed in flame, shadow, and smoke. The force of the explosion was felt all the way back to the Konoha-nin and the four Suna-nin.

Everyone one of the shinobi present blocking there faces from damage, Temari's eyes widened at the smoke cloud over where Hachimata's head was. "What… What power!!" she gasped. Kankurou nodded. "All of a sudden, I'm afraid of Leaf shinobi now…"

Kyuubi-Naruto snorted, and backed up, until he was right in front of Hinata, and he wrapped his tails around her.

Hinata hesitantly reached, and placed her hand on his back. It felt… warm to the touch, and oddly fuzzy. She giggled a little at the purr that came when she scratched his back. "Ji-Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya moved a hand over to scratch his transformed pupil's head, but stopped a good two inches away, feeling a searing heat. "What the…? How is it that possible?" He heard the low growling that Kyuubi-Naruto was starting to give off, and stepped away.

"It looks like primal instinct," said Iruka, stepping cautiously over. "He saw a need to protect his mate, and only allows her near him…" he trailed off as a tail wrapped around his wrist, and he raised his eyebrows. "Well, looks like he didn't lose his memory…"

Kyuubi-Naruto shot his head toward the body of Hachimata that had not fallen, and as the smoke cleared, Hachimata's head was missing its face, and his hate-filled red-and-yellow eyes glared balefully at them. Before the startled shinobi's eyes, it began to regenerate, with lightening crackling all over the apparent bone. Roaring, Kyuubi-Naruto, unwrapped his tails from around Hinata and Iruka and jumped off the building, ignoring Hinata's cries.

Unknown to all, Gaara's eyes snapped open, and he slowly sat up.

"Gaara!!" said Temari, catching the movement out of the corner of her eye. That caught everyone's attention from the disappearing transformed Jinchuuriki.

"Are you okay, Gaara?" asked Kankurou, hesitantly moving towards his younger brother.

"**You don't have time for this,**" said Shukaku in Gaara's head. "**We need to help out the Kyuubi and his kit. And for that to happen, you have to be away from here, cub.**"

Gaara looked up at the watching shinobi, narrowed his eyes, and disappeared in a swirl of sand.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

He reappeared some ways away, amidst a pile of rubble. 'What do I do now?' he asked the Tanuki in his head.

"**Now you perform that jutsu you were supposed to do originally. With all this rubble around us, we could have a good supply of sand…**"

'Yeah…' said Gaara as he sat down lotus style, and let a sphere of sand envelop him.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

"Where'd he go?" asked Baki, searching for his student.

"He looked pissed," commented Kankurou. "And when Gaara's pissed, shit tends to happen."

"Head's up!!" shouted Anko, and everyone jumped to the roof of another building at the one they stood on was obliterated.

Hachimata, at that point, had regrown his face and shot a fireball at Kyuubi-Naruto who had been perched on a building. Kyuubi-Naruto leaped the air, and Hachimata sent a fireball at him. In response, Kyuubi-Naruto let out a Kyuubi Roar, and dispelled the fireball, much to Hachimata's chagrin.

The transformed Jinchuuriki then swept his tails sideways toward the dragon, creating four lances of red Youkai–chakra that sped towards the temporarily surprised dragon. The first lance caught Hachimata in the eye, the second lance caught in the lower jaw, the third lance impaled itself into Hachimata's throat, and the fourth stuck itself in Hachimata's neck.

Hachimata roared and swiped a large hand at Kyuubi-Naruto, who caught it in the side. The enraged Bijuu threw the smaller Jinchuuriki at some standing buildings, then paused to tear the lance from his eye.

It was a foregone effort, because Kyuubi-Naruto extended his Kyuubified arms and tore out Hachimata's other eye, causing the massive dragon to roar in pain. Using the still regenerating eye, Hachimata rose up on his hind legs into a hunched-over state, and reached for the smaller Jinchuuriki, intending to crush Kyuubi-Naruto between his massive hands.

Kyuubi-Naruto roared and jumped away from the incoming demon, and Hachimata smashed headlong into two buildings, the collision causing a cloud of dust and rubble to arise. Landing on a downed building, Kyuubi-Naruto was caught unaware by the tail that lashed and wrapped around him, squeezing despite the hissing and sizzling of the burning scales.

Hachimata roared as he turned his head, preparing to crush his quarry between his tail. He relished in the unholy roaring of Kyuubi-Naruto, then heard something that made him want to stab himself out of rage.

"**Fuuton: Renkuudan!!**"

vvvvvvvvvvvv

"**Fuuton: Renkuudan!!**"

Temari watched as a giant ball of wind slammed into the left side of Hachimata, and she moaned in fright, while Hachimata snarled and turned his head toward the source. There was only one thing that could have done that…

Jiraiya seemed to have the same idea that Temari did. "Reverse Deus Ex Machina…" he muttered.

"What was that?" said Anko.

"Suna no Shukaku, I said," replied the Gama-Sennin as he pointed behind the group of shinobi.

Turning around, they all saw the Ichibi. He was sand-colored Tanuki roughly the size of Gamabunta, with glowing yellow eyes within a raccoon mask. Hunched over, pot-bellied, with a scale-like tail swaying behind him, Shukaku had come out to play.

Flexing his arm into the air, Shukaku roared, "**Bulls-eye! I got him… I got him good!!**"

"That's Shukaku?" asked Kiba. "He seems kinda funky…"

"Do not taunt the Spirit of the Sand!" snapped Baki, his eye trained on the now-approaching Tanuki. "He could kill you like a small dog…" Baki was cut off by the arrival of Inuzuka Hana and Inuzuka Tsume.

"Hokage-sama," said Tsume, bowing. "The Kyuubi…"

"Is contained, Tsume," said Sarutobi tiredly. As far as he was concerned, if they got through this, he was gonna be looking for a successor. But to the matter at hand…

"Okaa-sama," began Kiba, "why do you refer to Uzumaki Naruto as the Kyuubi? If he were the Kyuubi, then he would have wiped out the village long ago…"

Tsume looked down at her firstborn son… her only son. "Kiba… you don't understand… I lost your father, my husband to the Kyuubi, and I can't just ignore the fact that the creature that took him from us resides in the belly of THAT boy…"

"Just to let you know," said Shikamaru, pointing at the enraged Hachimata, "THAT boy is our only salvation in the face of the Destroyer Dragon…"

Hachimata roared and sent a stream of fire at Shukaku, who shot another Renkuudan at the enraged dragon bijuu. The fire and ball of wind collided, creating a firestorm that heated the air around everyone and caused them to cover there mouths.

(FYI: Legend has it that if you try to breath while there's fire in the sky, you'll end up vomiting up your own intestines… Not a good way to go.)

Hachimata snarled, and spread his magnificent wings, flapping them both. At their size, they caused a windstorm that blew out the firestorm, and also created hurricane force winds. "**WE ARE INVINCIBLE!!**" he roared. "**NO ONE CAN DEFEAT US! NO ONE!!**"

With that, Hachimata launched himself into the air, a massive behemoth of a winged beast, with hurricane-force winds bearing down on all of the inhabitants. With a loud roar, he threw the still struggling Kyuubi-Naruto at Shukaku.

Shukaku saw it coming, deeming it rather hard to miss a bullet of red moving at high speed towards him. Reaching out, he quite the Jinchuuriki with his massive sand hand. "**Hm… that has to sting…**" he commented as he heard the hissing of superheated sand.

Kyuubi-Naruto hissed at the rising dragon, and looked back at the massive Tanuki head. Shukaku raised an eyebrow at the silent command given to him, and grinned, or as well as a Tanuki Bijuu could. "**Okay… you proving yourself to be like that ancient proverb… Crazy like a fox.**"

With that, Shukaku raised his arm up to the airborne dragon, and as a mouth appeared below Kyuubi-Naruto, he uttered, "… **Fuuton: Mugen Daitoppa **(6A) !!" The mouth blew a gust of wind with enough force to shoot Kyuubi-Naruto off like a bullet.

Said Jinchuuriki hissed as he flew into the air, and narrowed his yellow eyes as Hachimata caught sight of him.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Hachimata was ready to wipe out this pathetic little village from the face of the planet, just because it had strong warriors. Not a good reason, true, but villains had slaughtered thousands for less… Hachimata chose to because he could. He was the damned Destroyer Dragon, after all!

But seeing the incoming false Kitsune flying through the air towards him caused him to snort. Foxes cannot fly… foxes are condemned to stay with their feet on the ground, unlike the mighty dragon, who is god of air, land, and sea.

Snarling, Hachimata threw his massive arm forward, in a massive punch to the incoming Kyuubi-Naruto. He caught the Jinchuuriki head-on, but said Jinchuuriki held onto the massive fist as if his life depended on it… which it did.

Flying slightly backwards, Hachimata tried to dislodge the enraged Jinchuuriki by striking out, ignoring the hissing of burning summoned scales.

"**Leave us!!**" Hachimata snarled, and then watched as the Jinchuuriki launched itself off of Hachimata's fist and up the dragon's arm. Hachimata growled and tried to devour the smaller near-Bijuu. The dragon missed and this threw him off center, and he flew back slightly more.

Kyuubi-Naruto made his way to the back of the dragon's head, where he latched on like a tick ready to feed. He began to charge, and charge, and when the familiar ball of chakra was formed… he spoke like a Youkai: "**Shi… ne…**"

The ball was swallowed, but Hachi, the Kumo-nin who had caused this trouble, reached out of the dragon's head and grabbed Kyuubi-Naruto by the neck, heedless of the burns his human hands received.

"**NO, NO, WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED!!**" he roared, then blanched as one of the four tails impaled his shoulder. Hachi's wild amber eyes centered on the sun-like ones of Kyuubi-Naruto as the Jinchuuriki opened his monster jaws.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

In the skies above Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, Hachimata hovered there. A large keening scream of a roar issued forth from the mighty eight tails, and a flash of light on the forehead was the only seeable evidence.

Until, the cracks began to appear…

vvvvvvvvvvvv

_Naruto grinned that foxy grin of his and said_…

Yellow cracks crisscrossed on Hachimata's body, like jagged lightening bolts…

"_I'm gonna be Hokage…"_

The mighty Destroyer Dragon was still, cracks all over his body and he began his plummet down to Earth…

"_And a Hokage wouldn't let his precious people die…"_

The cracks began to shine with a sickening yellow light…

"…_would he?"_

And so, Hachimata… Hachibi no Ryuu… the Eight-Tailed Dragon… the Destroyer Dragon… the second strongest of the Kyuu no Bijuu… exploded with the force of ten tons of TNT.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

"NARUTO-KUN!!!" screamed Hinata as the fiery remains of Hachimata plummeted down to the grounds just barely outside of the village, her eyes shining with freshly shed tears. She wasn't the only one shocked and terrified by this.

"No, Naruto!!" went Sarutobi, as the one who he thought as an adopted grandson went down in the remains of Hachimata, like a fiery meteor.

"Naruto!!" yelled Iruka, his eyes wide in shock and dismay, as his somewhat adopted younger brother went down in the flames of the dragon.

Sakura gaped at the smoke and fire, as the remains of Hachimata impacted outside the wall and gave off another thundering explosion, as well as sending pieces of forest into the air. 'He saved our lives… at the cost of his own… he really isn't the Kyuubi, like the elders believe him… he's… he's human…'

Kakashi was aghast at this new outcome. His neglect and favoritism had led to the demise of one of his students, and not just any student… but the… "Hero of this village," he whispered, falling to his knees.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Buki had Orochimaru by the stumps of his arms, and was joined by Kidoumaru and Tayuya. "Get Orochimaru-sama out of here," said Buki. "The Dragon has been defeated, and now, we're free to be gone from here."

Kidoumaru nodded and said to Tayuya, "Sound the retreat."

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Simultaneously, Suna and Oto-nins began to pull out of Konoha, mainly out of fear of Konoha's Jinchuuriki.

Shukaku, by this time, had given control back to Gaara, and the Suna Jinchuuriki was back to normal size, being supported by his brother and sister. "I would like to apologize for my actions," began Gaara, "but let us salvage Uzumaki-san."

Baki nodded, and he turned to Sarutobi. "After this is over, perhaps we could negotiate…?"

Sarutobi waved his hands. "Later… first, let us retrieve one of our own…"

Hinata, sniffling, nodded her assent, and the Konoha shinobi leapt off of the roof to search for their fallen teammate.

"Hinata…" began Kiba, guilt eating away at him. He wanted Hinata, but not like this! Not like this… "I'm sorry for what happened…"

Hinata shook her head. "No," she whispered. "I won't b-believe that Naruto-kun's d-de-dead until I s-see it myself."

Sakura, who was leaping with Sasuke, thought about the times when Team 7 was the three of them… no, when they were whole. "The fangirl… the avenger… and the idiot," she whispered. And now…

When the entourage arrived at the gaping hole in the wall, they stopped, covering their faces. The searing heat that came out from beyond it was enough to bring tears to ones eyes… not that they weren't already crying. On one accord, they sucked in a breath, and stepped beyond the threshold into the inferno.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Boufuu looked back to see the dense pillar of smoke rising from the direction he and his two subordinates came from. 'So… Hachi has lost… a pity. I was beginning to like him…'

"Nice," went Kureji, his hands on his brow. "I'm sure Hachi gave them plenty of cleanup and plenty of hell…"

Kurisu shook his head. "Whatever… we got what we came for…" he said, pointing toward the unconscious Kin.

Boufuu nodded. "A few more days, and we'll be home," he said. With that, the three Kumo-nin sped off, and that was the last time for a while that Hi no Kuni had them within its borders.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

When Iruka entered the area outside the wall, he had the impression that he and the others stepped into Hell. The oppressive heat and flames were everywhere, and there were mounds of smoking rubble all around them.

"Naruto-kun!!" shouted Hinata, through the sound of the flames. She wasn't going to abandon hope, and she was sure that Naruto was alive. He just had to be…

Her thoughts were cut off by a low groan, and she saw an arm poking out of a mound of rubble off to her left. "Over there!" she yelled, pointing.

Sasuke saw where Hinata was pointing, and ran over, pulling off stone after stone, aided by Hinata herself, Chouji, and Iruka.

When the last stone was removed, he stepped back in disgust. Ryunosuke Hachi had been forced back into his near human state, his waist below the remaining stones, was laying on his broken wings, his eyes blank and mouth open, great rivers of blood streaming from it. "Maybe he's somewhere else," said Sasuke, his eyes leaving Hachi's body.

Hinata nodded, and looked to her teammate, Shino. "To think that all this… all this from a maniac and a tortured soul," Shino had said. "I never knew Naruto personally… but at least, we all know now that he truly is the hero that Yondaime-sama meant him to be…"

Hinata smiled sadly, tears still streaming. She remembered the times that they had had alone, when she caught a glimpse of movement from her right. Then all she felt was pain, and she reacted accordingly: She screamed.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Kurenai heard Hinata screaming, and she plus the others spun to see one of the worst sights of all time: Ryunosuke Hachi, the Kumo-nin who had caused all this pain and heartache, had his jaws latched around Hinata's neck, his eyes glowing a poisonous amber yellow.

Kiba was the first to react. "Gatsuuga!!" he roared, and performed his signature attack, colliding with Hachi and sending him flying from Hinata. Canceling his attack, he turned to see Hinata being supported by Shino and Sakura, blood streaming from the punctures in her neck.

Hachi took advantage of that to use his tail like a club. He slammed it into Kiba with the force of a tackling footballer into his ribs. With his mind destroyed and reduced to an animalistic state, he roared at the lesser beings before him, and leapt at the Hyuuga heiress, intent on devouring her and the rest of the infidels. Then he felt pain.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Hinata saw through hazed eyes the red tail that impaled Hachi through his back and exiting his stomach. From behind Hachi rose a battered Kyuubi-Naruto, growling at the monster who dared to lay a tooth or claw on _his_ mate.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered, a small smile on her lips, before her vision went dark. 'Not… again…' she thought. '… I wanted to see him… no, be with him… once … more…'

Iruka saw Hinata pass out and took her from Shino and Sakura. "She needs to go to a hospital before she dies of blood loss!" he said, cradling her in his arms.

Kyuubi-Naruto turned Hachi towards him and hissed at him, as Hachi, who surprisingly had not expired, hissed back. There was a flash of movement, and another tail impaled itself on Hachi, this time, in his open mouth. Hachi gurgled, weakly pawed at the stronger Jinchuuriki, and went limp, his glowing eyes fading into their former brown.

Kyuubi-Naruto tossed Hachi to the side, swayed for a moment, then tumbled to the ground, rolling over on the rubble, until he reached the heated earth. His shell falling from his form, he let out a gasp of "… **Hi**… **n**a… ta…", before passing out, his blood a pool around him and his clothes in tatters, returning him to the blond Genin that he was before.

Kakashi gently picked up his student and carried him off to the hospital, as a soothing shower began to fall. "Let's go," he said, his eyes on his unconscious student.

As the group turned away, Kankurou pointed at the motionless cadaver that was Hachi. "What about him?"

Baki shook his head. "Leave him. Dead men tell no tales."

With that, the remnants of the shinobi in the outskirts took off, not noticing the barely visible twitch from Hachi's index finger.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Hours later found Sandaime massaging his forehead. Sunagakure had stated that Orochimaru had tricked them, and that they were willing to surrender peacefully. 'For every problem, there is no real solution,' he thought bitterly, as he found himself in another council meeting.

This time, the subject of the meeting was one that hadn't been touched down on in several years: Uzumaki Naruto.

"He must be destroyed!" railed Haruno Yukina, the mother of Haruno Sakura. "Because of that d… thing, my little girl was almost killed!"

"Need I remind you that all of our children were in danger and nearly killed," said Inoichi. "Besides, she was a hell of a lot safer with Uzumaki than with the other one…"

"In addition," said Aburame Shibi, Shino's father, "the container of the Hachibi would have destroyed Konohagakure had Uzumaki not stopped him."

This was a first for most of the council members, because usually Shibi would limit his speech to short answers, maybe four or five words at most.

The first to recover was Homura. "Regardless, Uzumaki Naruto getting too strong. His growth needs to be stopped before we have another Itachi on our hands."

Hiashi, being extremely tired from all the meetings from earlier, decided to end it all. "He won't… 'pull an Itachi' as it is said. There is someone who can hold him here, even if he loses himself to his power."

Koharu looked over at the Hyuuga head. "What exactly do you mean… who is this person?"

Hiashi was tempted to say his daughter, because he had heard how the two of them were somewhat intimate with each other, but he decided against it, because he knew it would mean a longer meeting, and he was anxious to get back to reconciling with his daughters. So he motioned to Sarutobi. "Seeing as how Sandaime-sama was the only person to show him any amount of decency, he looks to him as a grandfather. And as such, would never do anything to put his 'grandfather' in harms way."

Sarutobi nodded and glared coldly at the other Elders. "And bearing in mind that you wanted him dead years ago, where would that leave us at this very moment?"

The part of the council the hated Naruto felt sick at the thought of owing their lives to him, because they knew that Sandaime and Shibi were right. Had they had Naruto killed off like they wanted to years ago, Hachimata would have wiped Konoha from the face of the planet, and there would have been no way to stop it. No Shiki Fuuin, no baby, no shinobi… and they would have had no one to blame but themselves.

"The Inuzuka owe their lives to Uzumaki Naruto," said Tsume, looking over at her fellow members.

"As do the Aburame," added Shibi.

"And the Hyuuga," said Hiashi, his piercing eyes centered at the other members.

"And the Yamanaka, Akamichi, and Nara do as well," said the previous Shika-Ino-Cho team as one.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

"How is he?" Kakashi asked the doctor. The doctor, who had just exited Naruto and Hinata's room always put his job first and his feelings second, and he sighed.

"Mentally, Uzumaki is fine. Physically, his body is a mess. He looks a tad older than he should, and he might be coughing blood over the next few days because of internal injuries. If he wakes up… no, when he wakes up, it would be a good idea to have him off the shinobi active roster for a week or so."

Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. "What do you mean, 'if'?"

The doctor looked at the door. "His body looked like it tore into itself, and then healed itself again, in a continuous cycle. Typically, his regeneration ability would be a godsend, but in this particular case, it aged his cells and shortened his lifespan, from the looks of it…"

Kakashi lowered his eyes. His student wouldn't live as long as he could've, and it was all his fault. If he had helped him, instead of shoving him off to another…

He was cast from his thoughts by Kurenai's voice saying, "What about Hinata?"

The doctor turned to her and said, "The blood loss has stopped, but she's unconscious for the time being. She's been patched up, and with any luck, will be able to leave two days from now."

Kurenai nodded and turned to Kakashi as the doctor walked away. "On another note, your other student looks remarkably fine for someone who was dead for a couple of minutes."

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah… but that wouldn't have happened if I had gone with them… then Naruto wouldn't be here, and Sasuke wouldn't have died…"

Kurenai put her hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "You did what you could, and besides, that Kumo-nin probably would have killed you as well. He was the container of the second strongest Bijuu, no?"

Kakashi nodded. "But it still doesn't help the guilt…"

Kurenai gently grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall. "Come on, the others are waiting for the diagnosis."

Neither noticed the trail of blood that steadily crept into the hallway behind them.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

"How is Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan?" asked Sakura from over Sasuke's bandaged shoulder. Even though the other Genin did less fighting, they still had to be patched up for burns that they got in the aftermath.

"Physically, they've both been patched up and are on the road to recovery. Otherwise, they're both out cold. They should be up in a matter of days."

Gaara nodded. He had seen how Uzumaki, despite all odds, had fought and vanquished Hachi, and despite being locked away, felt a kinship with his fellow Jinchuuriki that Shukaku explained as a slowly forming friendship. "For what it's worth," he began, "Suna gives their wholehearted cooperation with the rebuilding of Konoha."

Asuma nodded. "And for what it's worth, I wish I could say I was sorry about what happened to your father, being the son of a Kage myself, but he did ally himself with an S-Class Nuke-nin…"

They had found out what had happened to the real Kazekage less than a few moments ago. Baki said that the Kazekage and his two guards were found in a gorge on the border of Kaze no Kuni and Hi no Kuni, the Kazekage's face missing from his head.

"I can't bring myself to feel sorry for him either," said Temari. At the incredulous looks she got, she raised an eyebrow. "What? Even though he was our father," she began, motioning to herself, Kankurou, and Gaara, "he didn't act the part. And he killed our mother for power… a cursed power at that." She sent a quick look at Gaara and added, "No offense."

"None taken," said both Gaara and Shukaku at the same time.

Ino shivered and curled up, holding onto her legs. "It still gives me goose-bumps how things could've gone if Hachi-teme had killed off Naruto. We'd more than likely be dead or worse."

Shikamaru nodded. "Though I do find it odd that he wanted to kill Naruto, then have him join him, then try to kill him again…"

Shino spoke for the first time that evening. "Power does… terrible things to people. Imagine the power of one of the strongest beings on the face of our planet at your fingers tips. Using it is like a drug: Addictive, persuasive, and deadly."

Sasuke nodded to himself. The Ten no Fuuin had made him feel all-powerful but he could feel the tendrils of Orochimaru trying to pull him towards said Naga ().

Everyone was cast from their thoughts by a scream, which was followed by an inhuman howl. Eyes wide with fear, the first ones out to see were Kiba and Iruka. "No…"

They saw a nurse lying on the ground, her throat a mass of torn flesh. There was the odor of slight decay in the air, and a blood trail that came from the hall in front of Hinata and Naruto's room that went into the room. "Ye… yellow… eyes…" the poor woman rasped out before her head lolled to the side.

Fearing the worst, Iruka ran in first… and stopped in shock and horror.

The battered, bloodied form of Ryunosuke Hachi had his jaws wrapped around Hinata's neck, and she was weakly trying to push him away. The Kumo-nin dropped her after a couple of seconds and hissed at the prone figure of Naruto, shuffling toward him.

Kiba was the first to react. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DIE!?" he roared and leapt at him, forming a Tsuuga on the way. When it collided, the force knocked the two of the out the window to the ground a floor below. Hachi and Kiba landed on all fours, and the two of them faced each other.

Hachi roared and leapt at Kiba, and suddenly found himself held back by sand. A tentacle of sand wrapped around his neck, and he growled ferociously, spewing blood and spittle. Another wrapped around his arms and legs, and soon, he was completely enveloped in a cocoon of sand.

"Sabaku Sousou!!" went the cry, and there was a loud thud, then ungodly yowling. Gaara furrowed his brow and applied more pressure. There was the sound of muffled crunching and more yowling, which eventually died away. Letting the Sand Coffin fell to the ground, Hachi's mangled arm flopped out of the pile of sand.

It didn't move at all.

"Thank Kami," said Kiba, sitting. Ryunosuke Hachi was gone for good this time. He wouldn't bother them anymore.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Two days passed, and Naruto slowly opened his eyes. Blinking slowly, he looked around. 'White ceiling,' he thought. 'Hospital again.' Looking to his left, he saw flowers and Get Well cards. Looking to his right, he saw… "Hinata-chan…"

Hinata was sleeping soundly, her wounds having been tended to and treated. She had flowers and Get Well cards as well. Standing up, he moved unsteadily towards the door and looked out of it. The hallway was clear, and he closed the door. Sitting back down, he gently stroked Hinata's cheek and smiled a little. "Hey, Hinata-chan, we did it. Hachimata's gone, and Hachi with him."

Hinata smiled in her sleep, and nuzzled Naruto's hand. "Mmm… Naruto-kun…" she murmured, before falling still, her chest rising and falling in slumber.

Naruto smiled a little, and cast his gaze out the window. 'Everything's all right now… though I can't shake the feeling about something else…'

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Two days later found Boufuu returning to his Clan Complex after delivering his report to the Raikage. He had told the man that they had lost Hachi due to a combined attack from Oto and Suna, and the Raikage accepted it, though he questioned why Hachi had been killed.

"He was caught in the crossfire," Boufuu had said. "But he fought valiantly, taking down at least twenty shinobi from all sides before falling."

Shrugging those thoughts from his head, he entered the complex. Yes, Hachi was dead, but as an honorary member of the Kurotora Clan, he had to have had some sort of back-up plan.

'Just like we do,' he thought, entering a dark room.

"You're late," came a voice to his right. He looked and saw the shadowed face of the Clan Head, Kurotora Torajin.

"I apologize," he said, stepping to the side, and across from the Head. "Are we ready?"

"Hai," came Kurisu's voice from the left. Along with Boufuu, himself, and the Clan Head, plus four other members, there were seven shadowy members forming a U around a body on the floor and a massive statue against the wall.

Forming a set of seals, Torajin ended in the Ram Seal and muttered, "Fuuin Jutsu: Kokutora Arashifuujin (7A)…"

Around the hands of the seven members present, glowing black and yellow light flickered and formed, eventually shooting out at the statue and striking it, causing runes to appear all over it and revealing it to be a statue of a tiger-like beast in a sitting position. The beasts eyes began to glow with an eerie orange light, before the light hitting it arced out a struck the body lying on the ground, causing it to rise.

Tsuchi Kin, former kunoichi of Otogakure, opened her eyes to see nothing but lightening and clouds all around her. Her gaze was drawn to one particular bolt of lightening. The bolt dissipated, and she saw something coming towards her. It got closer, and she saw that it was a running tiger-like beast, with dark yellow fur and black stripes. Before she got a good look, it was upon her, and it growled down at her.

Kin screamed.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

Boufuu winced at the screaming of Kin. "This is gonna take a while, right?"

Torajin nodded as he impassively watched the bolts of lightening force themselves into Kin's stomach. "She will be introduced to the Raikage as a new member of the clan… an indispensable one."

Kurisu nodded. "And the replacement for Hachi-san."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

(1A) Fuuton: Sajin Mugen Daitoppa – Wind Element: Infinite Sand Cloud Great Breakthrough. The user spews a large amount of sand from their mouth, which covers a large area. When the sand strikes the opponent, it devastates both the enemy and a large area around him.

(2A) Katon: Kajinheki – Fire Element: Fire Encampment Wall. The user creates a wall of fire to protect them. It can be a single wall or a cylinder, however, the cost to maintain the cylinder from is linked to the user's air supply.

(3A) Fuuton: Renkuudan – Wind Element: Drilling Air Bullet. Shukaku-Gaara takes a deep breath and shoots a large compressed ball of air at the opponent, causing an enormous conflagration if it hits.

(4A) Fuuin Jutsu: Hachi no Ryuu Fuujin – Sealing Technique: Eight Dragon Sealing. Hachi seals off the target from their supply of chakra temporarily. In this case, Shukaku was completely sealed off from Gaara. Presumably, only Hachi knows this jutsu.

(5A) Fuuin Jutsu: Hozon Fuujin – Sealing Technique: Preservation Sealing. Hachi seals the target in a storage scroll. This technique is strong enough to seal a healthy human away, putting them in a sort of stasis. Only Hachi knows this jutsu.

(6A) Fuuton: Mugen Daitoppa – Wind Element: Infinite Great Breakthrough. A stronger version of **Fuuton: Daitoppa**, in which the user can damage a larger area with a larger blast of wind.

(7A) Fuuin Jutsu: Kokutora Arashifuujin – Sealing Technique: Black Tiger Storm Sealing. Unknown jutsu used by the Kurotora Clan. Could either be seen as a reversal of **Fuuin Jutsu: Genryuu Fuujin**, or a Sealing Jutsu for higher Youkai.

() Naga – A term made for beings that are part human and part snake; the generic Naga would be human from the waist up, and snake-like from the waist down.

_Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: _Ryunosuke Hachi is finally dead and gone, and it looks like Hachimata has gone with him. Now the Rookie Nine can settle down and recuperate from the battle… NOT! Promotions are in store, and the search for the successor to the Hokage begins. Next time on _Wrath of the Dragon: Back to Canon! The Search for Tsunade-hime!!

sighs I really hate my laptop sometimes. But I was able to put nearly everything that was on it back on it. And I left you all a little gift… Homage-ness!

Reverse Omake:

When Hachi opened his eyes, he cursed. "I can't believe I failed," he muttered, walking down the hall he found himself in. Seeing a door that said "Check-In" he continued his muttering. "All I wanted to do was prove my superiority by killing the Kyuubi and his vessel… plus all the men in the village, and create a village of part-dragons, and take over the Shinobi World. And I would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for those meddling…"

"No," said a tired voice at the other end of the room. "No breaking the fourth wall… This anime has done that once already."

"Hmm?" Hachi took a look at the man at the desk and furrowed his brow. "You're Konoha's Yellow Flash, right?"

Yondaime nodded. "And you're Ryunosuke Hachi… Shinobi of Kumogakure, age 15, Blood Type O, birthday, July 3rd." Reading Hachi's file, he tilted his head. "Okay, you tried to annihilate the entire village of Konoha, but you were the vessel of the Hachibi… You killed hundreds, but in the process, took care of some major head-aches…"

Hachi grinned. "Meh, I'm just one… part-dragon."

Yondaime rubbed his forehead. "You can't go above, because you've killed innocents, but then again, you did kill some villains that would have become major pains later. You either go to Hell, or Purgatory."

Hachi was about to answer, when he heard a scream from outside the door. In ran a blond man with a Suna hitai-ate, who slammed the door shut and stood against it.

"Kareru find you yet?" said Yondaime grinning.

"Screw you, Yondy," spat Yashumaru. "How was I supposed to know that she wanted Gaara to live?"

"Because I told you to take care of my Gaara-kun, you ass-wipe!" came a female voice through the door. A feminine hand smashed through the door and grabbed Yashumaru by the neck. Seconds later, the door was broken through, and Yashumaru found himself screaming like the feminine sister he found himself at the mercy of.

"I was trying to avenge your death, Nee-chan!" he said as he was bound by his wrists and feet.

"My death was so Gaara-kun could live and spite the rest of the village!!" she snarled, pulling on a leash. Yondaime Kazekage came in with a collar around his neck and picked up Yashumaru. "This is your fault, you know," he muttered.

"My fault!?" said Yashumaru. "You were the one who told me to kill him!"

"You're both a bunch of jackasses!" hissed Kareru as she pulled on the leash and dragged both men away. "Now time for you both to pay."

Hachi turned to Yondaime and said, "Purgatory."

Reverse Omake End

thumbs up Like I said, a Homage… to "Konoha's Yellow Flash Really Hates Paperwork", by

Catch you all later. I might not be able to update as much as I like, due to job-hunting, but I'll try. Ja ne!

((Rai Shunshin no Jutsu))


	11. AN

The administrators of are as of June 4th going to be taking down fics that have lemons or have extreme violence. Now I don't know about you, but I think that's stupid. There are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long. None of us had issues with each other writing lemons, and we probably won't anyway.

Now if these lemons are going to the extreme, then it is understandable if the story and (only that story) itself with the material is removed. as our dear friend Dark Dragen found out. This, however, does not justify the removal of an author without warning, as I found out on June 3rd, attempting to check on Dark Dragen's FAVORITES. Thousands of stories lost in the winds of this wonderful site, now waiting for someone to try to find them all again amidst the ocean of Fics.

This policy is damaging to us as artists, since as writers, that is what we all are. When I came to this wonderful site in 2003, and joined in 2005, it was with the promise of expressing my creativity, along with everyone else. With the June 4th Notice, we are now being told

"Sorry, Mike/Leo, we can't have you showing your David/Vitruvian Man because his wang is showing for everyone to see."

Overall, this new policy is a terrifying idea to us, because it limits our creativity, while ignoring that in the long run, real-world event are far worse that lemons and violence.

All over the world, child prostitution occurs, but is mainly prevalent in the Far East.

In Africa, child soldiers fight for corrupt governments

Just last week, it was reported that a college student in Baltimore killed and cannibalized his roommate for no apparent reason.

We the authors are asking you, the Admins to reconsider this policy, since it will be damaging to the site, in terms of the mass Exodus it will invoke.

This will be deleted at a later point.

Also, to everyone who wants more chapters to WINDOWS; like I said in my HIYAMA teaser, the data was lost. As it turns out, the computer I kept the info on got a Rootkit from somewhere (I assume my brother was downloading crap he shouldn't have), which crashed the whole system. Saying that I should have had a backup is pointless considering that the kit got into the USB Drive I had the info on. However, due to popular demand, I will be uploading a rewrite of this, working from scratch and old notes I found. To those of you saying I'm a promise-breaker, it's not that I chose to hiatus WRATH and WINDOWS, its that I had no choice (I'm looking at you **Im Not Itachi**)

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, or if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be losing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

forum. fanfiction topic/111772/63683250/1/#63698621

Psudocode_Samurai

Rocketman1728

dracohalo117

VFSNAKE

Agato the Venom Host

Jay Frost

SamCrow

Blood Brandy

Dusk666

Hisea Ori

The Dark Graven

BlackRevenant

Lord Orion Salazar Black

Sakusha Saelbu

Horocrux

socras01

Kumo no Makoto

Biskoff

Korraganitar the NightShadow

NightInk

Lazruth

ragnrock kyuubi

SpiritWriterXXX

Ace6151

FleeingReality

Harufu

Exiled crow

Slifer1988

Dee Laynter

Angeldoctor

Final Black Getsuga

ZamielRaizunto

Fenris187

blood enraged

arashiXnoXkami

tstoldt

Mystic 6 tailed Naruto

ElementalMaster16

Dark Vizard447

Darth Void Sage of the Force

Shiso no Kitsune

The Sinful

Kage640

Ihateheroes

swords of twilight

Kyuubi16

darthkamon

narutodragon

bunji the wolf

Cjonwalrus

Killjoy3000

blueexorist

White Whiskey

Ying the Nine Tail Fox

Gin of the wicked smile

tstoldt

The wolf god Fenri

JazzyJ09

sleepers4u

The Unknown 007

Gallantmon228

MKTerra

Gunbladez19

Forgottenkami

RHatch89

SoulKingonCrack

Dreadman75

Knives91

The Lemon Sage

Dark Spidey

VioletTragedies

Eon The Cat of Shadows

kazikamikaze24

animegamemaster6

LLOYDROCKS

demented-squirrel

swords of dawn

The Immoral Flame

blueexorist

Challenger

Shywhitefox

drp83

Bethrezen

Dragon6

bellxross

unweymexicano

The First Kitsukage

kingdom219

brown phantom

littleking9512

kurokamiDG

Auumaan

FrancineBlossom

BDG420

Her Dark Poet

bloodrosepsycho

Shen an Calhar

NarutoMasterSage4040

Masamune X23

Kuromoki

Sliver Lynx

devilzxknight86

Unis Crimson

Zero X Limit

SinX. Retribution

reven228

JAKdaRIPPER

Third Fang

IRAssault

Grumpywinter

absolutezero001

Single Silver Eye

animekingmike

Daniel Lynx

zerohour20xx

arturus

Silvdra-Zero

YoukoTaichou

Leonineus

Aragon Potter

Kur0Kishi

Aznpuffyhair

IsealShisarakage  
Uzunaru999  
Dark-Knight  
fearme80  
Devilsummoner666  
slicerness  
Toa Naruto  
Soleneus  
kagedoragon  
dansama92  
KamenRiderNexus  
Captive Crimson  
KyuubiiLover27  
MozillaEverer  
4rm36uy  
ebm6969  
Repiece  
phantomshadowdragon  
Colonel Eagle  
Timothy1988  
ShadowZenith  
awsm125  
The Purple Critic  
Darkepyon  
Zombyra  
brickster409  
ChaosSonic1  
Leaf Ranger  
SoulEmbrace2010  
Oni Shin  
Silverknight17  
Specter637  
HunterBerserkerWolf  
shadow-red0  
The Roaming Shadow  
bucketbot  
AvalonNakamura  
Avacii  
Maxwell Gray  
Silvdra-zero  
Arashi walker  
Lord of Daemons  
Lord Anime  
CloudRed1988  
forestscout  
The Lost Mana  
Red Warrior of Light  
TUAOA MORRISTOFOX  
Mr. Alaska  
Swagnilla-Ice-1985  
MugetsuIchigo  
bloodlust002  
Nerverean  
Kage Biju  
JK10  
OBSERVER01  
MistressWinowyll  
Count Kulalu  
ronin504  
ted009  
Ralmidaz  
lederra  
Lost my shoe in Sheol  
ToyHaunter  
Hiyami  
PuckReathof  
demonsinger  
konomu-Imout  
LOVEMANGA AND DRARRY  
yuseiko-chan  
Elvira-baba  
Icecce  
iampieman  
Ultimabloodblade  
Gintoki  
kumar9900  
DemonAngel of Ice  
dragon-cloud16  
Harute Haptism  
the green ace of clubs  
Assassin King of Masyaf  
Flame-Fist-Ace  
Lucifer's Remnants  
Story Reader 97  
kniznik  
NARUHAREM FOREVA  
NHunter  
Angry Hamster  
Kouken Tenshi  
Yume Saint-Clair  
Oo-chan  
jojo(non inscrit)  
gaia (pas inscrit)  
Estelle Uzumaki  
Melana76  
onarluca  
Xanara  
odvie  
archiemouse  
Fenrir the vicious  
taj14  
c i am a dragon  
God Emperor Of GAR-halla  
Warrior of Olympus  
Xxfreefallangelxx  
BituMAN  
shadowcub  
acepro Evolution  
ScorpinokXV  
Hunter200007  
kyo anime  
Nysk  
Killeraction49  
Storylover213  
arya19  
irvanthedamned  
Kiranos  
KingKidBadAss  
nimb09  
Paladeus  
Orange-Fuzz-Ball  
Kakkyou no Yami  
Burning Truth  
DrunkManSquakin  
cabel1972  
dynomike88  
Tolotos  
Hansi Rahl  
Rekmond  
Farmer Kyle  
You-Lack-BadAssery  
Silverscale  
Cloud75JC  
GunnerRyuu  
Kurogane7  
Raja-Ulat  
DragonMasterFlex  
Saphire Quill  
shadowzefover5  
Highvalour  
Rinoti  
2ndsly  
guardianmaster4  
Godlykiller2  
munesanzune  
DarkghostX  
w1p  
Lord Arkan  
Xahn777  
T3Ko  
Dragon Man 180  
Alia-Jevs  
Fayneir  
Ookami Ousama  
Asdfth12  
Burning Lights  
EternalBlizzardOfSwords66  
eltigre221  
Jarjaxle  
HinaGuy749  
Great Vampire-Shinso  
Harute Haptism  
Oxyxoon  
high lord mage  
FatalCrimsonScion  
Starfire99  
Doombreed  
AdamantiumTP  
NightInk  
Wrathkal  
Firedamaged  
God Emperor of GAR-halla  
xArtehx  
Kapola Nuva  
HunterAzrael  
anime-death-angel  
sabery  
Bahamutzero94  
Soul Painted Black  
Infinite Freedome  
Rodneysao  
Shatsuka  
jm1681  
Ookami88  
Akira Strider  
empresskitsune  
KitsuneGirl021  
KagomeGirl021  
Joey Blaq  
Nex Caedes  
Billy Buyo  
lite spirit  
CelticReaper  
fullhouses  
Felur  
TitaniumWyvern  
NeonZangetsu  
LargerSnowdevil  
I'm Yu  
Define Incompetent  
Caw-Raven  
BackwardsHazard  
lord Martiya  
Umashido  
pokemoncosmoking  
sjghostwriter18  
scout360pyro  
taintedloki  
MtSarx  
kumar9900  
TehIrishBrony  
Uzumaki Crossover  
Etsukazu no Kitsune  
Ranger-kit  
rts515  
Soulblazer87  
Kamigawa Nagamaki  
F Archer  
us4gi-ch4n  
Shirabaka Tenji  
Spear-of-the-doomed  
Painsake  
Ben1987  
Spartan Ninja  
dante5986  
Victoriousvillian  
Sage of Eyes  
Boomerbambam  
YosoNoAkuma  
Megaman88  
Angry Hamster  
Warden of the Runes  
Kiyoi  
Silverstonedragon  
Akane Mosoa  
Cryofthewolf  
Culebra del Sol  
HouseMD93  
Doc. K-9  
dracon867  
Moka Mcdowell  
VGZ  
Oirarana  
Nightmares Around Winter  
chuck17  
Son Of A Wolf  
Daniel Lynx  
Sibjisibdi  
sleepwhenyourdead1989  
BackwardsHazard  
Hunter200007  
Zagger the Bloody Angel  
Zen Rinnegan  
Duochanfan  
alice the noble  
Zagger the Bloody Angel  
BRD man  
nano101  
ShotgunWilly  
EternalKnight219  
deadak  
Idiote  
AkumaKami64  
loki0191  
konoha's Nightmare  
zrodethwing  
ursineus  
KamenRiderNexus  
neko-hikage-chan  
Project Slepnir  
Narora Senoku  
spider79  
ZloGlaZ  
Erebus of the Banat  
belnonm  
Tristan Blackheart  
Xefix  
dbzsotrum9  
Nanna00  
kired-reader  
Kingswriter  
hollyshortfowl  
ChaosRaptorEye  
The Infamous Man  
Vampchick2010  
THE Dark Dragen  
26-Lord-Pain  
Vail Ryuketsu  
darkmatter13  
forbiddenfruitunloved  
lostandthedamned  
EmperialGem21  
Chiyo Asakura  
SnakeHead85  
Zediir  
OccultAura  
ZeroZangetsu  
will1by2  
Taullinis  
dregus  
rst64lc  
Leaf Ranger

SaiyanShinobi

Dez Guardius


	12. AN the Second

Well folks, the people have spoken, and it seems as though the Admins have slowed down. Unfortunately, the damage is already being done. Numerous authers are leaving in droves, and those remaining are at a stalemate. We just want the Admins to put up the necessary protocols that would allow us to keep our writings, like age and account verification.

I've noticed that most of the people who complain about stories are either Anonymous or not even authors. To date, the only that I've run across that I've definitely thought should be gone was a Dora the Explorer fic involving Dora and Swiper the Fox.

Yeah, none for me, thanks.

Again, look out in the real world. There are worse things than people writing smut between a guy and one or more girls, a guy and another guy, or two girls. Plus, look at the crap they show in movies

**That's My Boy **= Movie about a kid born to a young teen and a teacher. Admittedly, everyone has had at least one fantasy about a teacher in school, and there was a major case about it made years ago.

**No Strings Attached **= movie about casual sex, with scenes of casual sex.

**Saw **= 'Nuff said.

**Hostel** = Torture Porn; essentially dumb American college students in Europe lured to Hostels to the promises of lots of lovely ladies and men, and find themselves tortured for by rich Europeans for their pleasure.

So that's sexual situations in the first half and extreme violence in the other, and I have to admit that Hostel made me cringe. Yet I don't hear any large outcries against anything like the above. Plus, most of the people who make the stuff that we write fiction about don't care what we do, like good ole J.K. Rowling.

With that rant out of the way, on June 23rd, there will be an official Black Out. Authors will not log in, read, or review stories. Those who do not have accounts are also affected by FF's decisions too. Please participate and spread the news! If enough authors take part in this event, FF will know we mean business.

SPREAD THE WORD!

copy and paste this into your story updates, communities and forums

THANX!


End file.
